


Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime

by androidkisser



Category: NieR: Automata (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2018-03-02
Packaged: 2019-01-06 16:48:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 21,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12214863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/androidkisser/pseuds/androidkisser
Summary: Getting closer is just so hard.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> New long as hell thing. Stick with me again for another wild ride, won't you? (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)
> 
> Leave a comment if you like!

Boredom was what the humans called it, but it ran far deeper than that. Often, she pondered why she was made the way she was – it was in direct conflict with everything YoRHa stood for, wasn't it? She'd heard rumours of discontinued personality data, and wondered if that's what she was – a trial run. As far as she was aware, she was the only one of her personality type that had ever been put into service.

Her fingers came to rest on her cheekbone, her chin sitting on the base of her palm. A thoughtful expression graced her features for a moment, though it soon gave way to one of longing, accompanied by a sigh. She was lonely.

Another one of those emotions she shouldn't be feeling. Great.

Regularly scheduled contact didn't do anything to assuage those feelings; if anything, it only drove the point home further. It was enforced, it was necessary. Five minutes of one-sided chatter with 2B was always just enough time to remind her just how much she irritated the other girl; much as she seemed to irritate almost everyone else around her.

Of course, she found joy in going through any new data that made its rounds through the Operator team – picking it apart and examining it triggered a positive response that she had determined was hard-wired into her systems, but she knew she longed for something more. Going through it alone was fine and well, but sharing the discoveries, sharing the feelings with someone else would be...

She shook her head lightly, her veil and braids shifting back and forth. The mission would be over soon enough, and then she'd be able to retreat to her quarters. She still had to at least _somewhat_ focus on that for now, but it wasn't as if it took her a lot of effort to do so. In fact, it was the opposite. She'd become so proficient at it that she was more than comfortable spending most of her work days in a reverie, absent-mindedly completing her duties, her fingers practically on auto-pilot, mind entirely elsewhere. She envied the others around her, their thoughts almost entirely taken over by their tasks and requests, with few processes to spare for self-reflection.

A hand on her shoulder took her entirely by surprise. The gentle tug at one of her braids made her frown.

 _“Nines,”_ 6O said, pouting, “I told you not to do that!”

“They're right there, though,” he said, cocking his head to one side, a little smile on his face. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she replied, in a faraway voice. “I just have to see her to camp, then she'll be back here soon enough...”

“I meant with you,” 9S said, gently. “You were a little off earlier, so I thought I'd come check in quickly.”

“Oh,” said 6O, a little surprised. “Oh! Um, no, I'm fine, it's just...”

“It's just...?” 9S went on, pushing for more. Whether one considered it endearing or an annoyance, having 9S as a friend meant that no question would ever be able to go unanswered.

6O sighed. “It's nothing... really, I'm just being stupid again.”

“Again?” asked 9S, puzzled, before realisation washed over him. “Oh, it's – sorry, if I didn't have to go back in a few hours, you know I'd...”

“I know,” 6O replied, a wistful smile on her face. “Don't worry about it – there'll be other times, you know?”

“Yeah, but you – alright, yeah,” he said, a little sullenly. “What's she even doing down there, anyway? Weren't we supposed to deploy together?”

“Command had her test out some new weapons prototypes alone – something about not wanting the data too noisy? You didn't miss out on anything much.”

“Oh? Huh, she never mentioned – well, I guess that's not unusual, but still...”

6O chewed on her bottom lip a little. 9S was even worse at handling 2B's nuances than she was. It was a little hard to watch.

“Anyway,” he said, consciously wiping away any negative emotions from his face, “I'm gonna go talk to 21O before I leave, see if she wants anything – you take care, alright?”

“You're the one that needs to take care,” she mumbled. “Say hi to 21O for me, will you? She always ignores my messages...”

“What, you think she listens to me?” 9S asked, a wry smile back on his face. “I'll tell her, though, don't worry.”

“Thanks,” 6O said, softly. “Come by when you're back, okay?”

“You know it,” he replied with a smile, a hand resting gently on her shoulder again for an instant, and then he was gone.

She sighed, drifting off into her thoughts again. 2B had made it back to camp safely, and so she was free, for now.

Despite that, she didn't feel like heading to her quarters. There was something oddly soothing about the chatter of the Command room, even if none of it was aimed at her. She had no doubt that there'd barely be enough time to get started on anything anyway, before the next mission began.

Through her haze of messy thoughts, she was vaguely aware of Operators around her leaving their seats, before returning a short time later. It was a little odd – was everyone just taking breaks as they pleased? – but the reason for it was soon clear, as a communications request popped up in a corner of her screen.

Thankfully, she knew that if most everyone else was being called up, she wasn't being singled out to be berated by anyone, so she accepted it with only a little trepidation.

The Commander's stern tones greeted her. “6O, come down to the bridge. That's all.”

“Y-yes, ma'am! Right now, or –”

The call disconnected before she could finish her sentence. 6O pursed her lips. It was bad enough that 2B did it.

She pushed away from her desk, before standing up and stretching her arms above her head. Synthetic or not, sitting in place for sixteen hours straight was tantamount to torture. The clicking of her heels on the floor was almost an alien sound to her, at this point.

A second pair of heels added to the rhythm of her own, as she neared the elevator – she looked up, curious, to see 21O slip inside the barrier along with her.

“I received your message,” 21O said, airily.

“Huh? My what?”

“Your message,” repeated 21O. “I believe it was 'hi'.”

“Oh, right,” 6O said, sheepishly. It was a little redundant, now.

“Well, hello.”

Conversation with 21O was not only a rarity, but considered a fruitless endeavour by many.

“So, uh... do you... know what this is about?”

“I have a few theories,” 21O replied, flatly.

“Are you gonna... share those theories?”

“Well, 6O,” 21O began, turning to face her, “which unit do I supervise?”

“9S, but –”

“And which unit do you supervise?”

“2B, but that's not what I –”

“Do those two units often work together?”

 _“Yes_ , I get it, but we don't know _what_ it's –”

“Well, we're about to find out, so it appears there won't be any need for me to share my theories after all,” 21O interjected, stepping off the elevator as it reached the lower level of the room. 6O pouted, knitting her eyebrows together in frustration, before moving to follow her to the central area, where the Commander stood waiting.

“Good,” she said, “I'm glad you were both available.”

Both Operators saluted, but remained silent.

“There is nothing exciting about why you're here,” the Commander continued. “It's simply a matter of data sharing. Based on past mission reports, there seem to be some growing issues with some of our paired units, so I'm asking you to compare both log files and experiences.”

“Experiences?” 6O asked, genuinely unsure of what the meaning was behind those words.

“Anything untoward, anything that may affect mission efficiency, yes.”

“You want us to... talk about them... more?”

“I'm not asking you to sit and gossip,” the Commander stated, plainly. “If you think that it's important, then share it with each other, and compare it with your own recorded data. If, after that, you deem it as sufficient evidence that something is amiss, forward it to me.”

“I see...” said 6O, confusion etched across her features.

“Commander,” began 21O, “I take it you have your suspicions already?”

“Suspicions are always just that – suspicions,” she replied. “Until something concrete comes to light, I'm not going to give credence to baseless conjecture.”

“Yes, ma'am,” the two Operators said together, before saluting once more. “Glory to mankind!”

“Glory to mankind,” said the Commander, before she turned to walk away.

6O was the first to relax her posture. “That was a little... weird, don't you think?”

For a second, it looked as if 21O would indulge her, but her face soon straightened itself out. “What I think is that we should do as we're asked, 6O.”

“I _know_ , but – really, what'd she mean by 'anything that may affect mission efficiency'?”

“I would have thought that was obvious,” 21O said, stepping back on to the elevator.

“No, but does that include stuff like – I dunno, 9S being... well, how he is?”

“I'd assume not,” said 21O, looking almost thoughtful. “I certainly don't intend to compile a full report on him for being talkative.”

“Mm... it just feels like it's more serious than she was letting on, you know?”

“6O.”

“And, not to mention, it feels _weird_ that we're gonna be discussing –”

 _“6O,”_ repeated 21O, firmly. “Stop it.”

“R-right...” 6O instantly felt any progress she felt she may have made with 21O melting away in front of her eyes. Unprofessional attachment to colleagues was frowned upon at the best of times, but flaunting it in front of _her_ , of all people? Sheer idiocy. “Well, I'll get back to my station... talk to you later?”

“When you have something to share,” 21O replied, before turning to walk in the opposite direction to 6O, back to her own desk.

6O sighed once more.

“Yeah...”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to keep up a reasonable upload speed for this, since it's going to be a longer one. Next chapter's going to be longer, I think, but we'll see.
> 
> Please leave a comment, thank you!

Of course, there were things that she couldn't share – not with 21O, anyway. However, given that she now had almost full access to the logs from their missions, 6O found herself being questioned over 2B's behaviour – 21O had never been privy to the other half of the conversations that took place planet-side, after all.

“If she doesn't desire senseless chatter, why does she encourage him at all?”

“Um, well, maybe she doesn't want him to get too... _dis_ couraged? I mean, with him having both her and you as his only field contacts, maybe she's just trying to –”

“Just what is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, um – I just mean, well... that he's not really all business?” 6O stammered, attempting to backtrack her unintentional insult. “I'm sure he wants to get the job done just the same as anyone else, but he wasn't made like you or her, you know?”

“It's hindering mission progress,” said 21O, beginning to sound exasperated. “We should forward this to the Commander.”

“No!” 6O said, far too quickly. “I mean – no, you – we can't, it's not even _remotely_ serious enough! You said being talkative wasn't worthy of a report, anyway!”

If the Commander caught wind of anything like that, then the chance that 2B would be torn away from 9S was – no, that was something that 6O wouldn't, _couldn't_ allow to happen.

The whole situation was making her uneasy to start with, but the thought that she herself was now solely responsible for keeping 2B's life together was almost enough to make her want to decommission herself for good.

6O had known from the very start that she'd be working with an E-type – she _had_ to know. Besides the Commander herself, she was the only one that knew that the name “2B” was an outright lie. With that knowledge came a myriad of rules and regulations, though they didn't hinder her often – something she was more than thankful of.

The details of it were almost too much for the pair of them to handle, sometimes. 2B had only confided in her once, but the sounds of her sobbing so hard she almost retched, and the feeling of hot tears on her shoulder weighed heavily on 6O's mind, day in, day out. She knew full well what 2B's assignment did to her, yet she also knew that things had to stay as they were. 9S was hers, after all, though she'd never admit that part so freely.

“That was before I saw these logs,” 21O said, massaging her forehead with her fingertips, “and even if we do overlook things like that, you cannot ignore the fact that they're... too close.”

“We can't all be like you,” 6O muttered under her breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” she replied, quickly. “It's just... they've worked together for so long, you can't expect them to –”

“That is _exactly_ what I expect,” 21O stated, reading where 6O was going with that line of thinking. “As does Command.”

6O held back the frustrated, gurgling groan that threatened to escape her lips. 21O didn't understand – _couldn't_ understand. As infuriating as it was, though, she knew that what she was saying was right. By rights, nobody involved should be feeling the way they did – there was no leeway in YoRHa protocol.

“We don't know what's gonna happen to them if we do that,” said 6O, slowly and carefully. “Can't we at least just... I dunno, talk to them ourselves, first? See if – if we can fix it, before we involve anyone else, or waste anyone's time?”

21O looked up at her; on what little of her face was visible, there sat a strained expression.

“Yes,” she said, finally, “but if it isn't something that we ourselves can keep in check, the Commander _will_ need to know about the extent of it.”

“I... yeah, I know,” mumbled 6O. “I know that, it's just...”

“It's our duty,” 21O interjected, calmly, standing up to leave. “If there's nothing else, I'll be going.”

“Sure, yeah,” said 6O, quietly. “Let me know when you've talked to 9S, okay?”

21O didn't respond. The door shut silently behind her.

 _Bitch,_ thought 6O. How could someone be so cold? So absolutely unfeeling? At least with 2B, she always knew what lay beneath the mask – she knew there was _something_. With 21O... it was astounding, almost, that someone could be so detached.

She stood up, kicking the chair back under her desk, and tearing the veil from her face. An uncharacteristic look of disdain crossed her features, as she threw herself on top of her bed. She couldn't even begin to fathom why 21O seemed so eager to throw the pair to the wolves – she could only assume it was by some twisted logic that she thought it was 'for the best'.

Burying her face in her hands, she rolled onto her side, wishing she could be the one to talk to 9S, too – she knew 21O wouldn't factor in his feelings, and that he'd come away believing he'd committed some heinous, unforgivable crime.

2B would be hard enough to deal with on her own, though – that was a given. It'd only be an hour, at most, until her maintenance with 9S was over, and then she'd have to pull her to one side, swiftly, before their next deployment commenced.

Her palms pressed into her eyes, the glass pushing painfully against the back of her eye sockets and triggering several alerts on her visual feed. Reaching up over her head, she pulled down one of her pillows, hugging it tight to her chest, and curling up around it.

Life felt so hard, when you cared.

 

**

 

“I don't have long,” said 2B, brusquely, pulling on her boots.

“You don't have to say it like _that_ ,” 6O said with a sigh. “I do know your schedule, you know...”

2B's lips pursed for a second – perhaps to consider an apology, but it never came.

“Go on,” was what she settled on.

“Okay,” 6O said, slowly, her mind still recovering from sorting through nigh-infinite variations and combinations of words and phrases. “It's about 9S, and –”

“What about him? He has clearance to operate his flight unit, doesn't he?”

“Yeah, that's not it,” 6O said, sitting down next to 2B on the side of her bed. 2B glanced over, seemingly refusing to finish getting dressed until she knew what was going on. “There's...”

6O's head was spinning. Just how much could she share, anyway?

“Yes?”

Everything, she decided.

“We've – um, 21O and I, we've been ordered to keep a closer eye on you and 9S,” 6O began, watching 2B's eyes for signs of a reaction. “Don't you dare tell anyone!” She exclaimed in a panic. “I swear, I'll get way more than just yelled at if you do...”

“A closer eye?” 2B echoed, reaching for her combat visor. 6O grabbed her wrist. She hated that thing.

“I don't know how serious it is yet, okay? 21O's totally out for the both of you, though.”

2B looked down at 6O's hand, fingers wrapped around her thin forearm, tightly; she relinquished her grip on the visor, taking the hint.

“In what sense?” 2B asked, followed by, “Why?”

“I dunno,” 6O replied, in earnest, “but it feels like she's looking for any excuse to have _something_ to report.”

“Mm,” hummed 2B, looking down at the floor. “Did she find one?”

“I managed to uh, dissuade her – for now – but... okay, look, I _know_ you hate talking about this, and I know you're gonna do that 2B-thing where you just go all quiet on me...”

“It's fine,” 2B mumbled. “Go on.”

“I know it's hard for you to keep it in,” 6O said, loosening her grip on 2B's wrist, and leaving her hand in place as a comforting gesture, “but I feel like if you let anything slip around him, before we're done with whatever this is...”

“If it's concerning you this much, then –”

“She's more perceptive than most, so it's better to play it safe, isn't it?” 6O said, cutting her off. “And hey, he can't find out about this either – you know he'll say something stupid.”

“I understand,” 2B said, sullenly. “Do you happen to know – well, why us?”

“The Commander said there's a few paired units she's looking into, but I'm not sure I buy it,” 6O said, cautiously, before looking around the room. “042 isn't here, right?”

“Waiting in the flight unit,” replied 2B. “I'll... be more careful, then. Is it simply a matter of protocol breaches, or is there something more?”

“I... I don't know, 2B,” said 6O, quietly. “You know as much as I do, now.”

“Appreciated,” 2B said, leaning forwards to pull on her remaining boot, her hands shaking.

“Hey, it's alright,” 6O said, soothingly, her hand running back and forth across 2B's arm. “I'm not gonna let anything bad happen, so try to keep calm, okay?”

“It's not fair,” 2B whispered, “it was already too hard as it was.”

“I promise,” said 6O, in the most reassuring tone she could muster, “I promise, I'll take care of it, I just... I had to tell you.”

“Is this to do with – ” 2B choked on her words for a second, “– my assignment?”

“No... I actually don't think it is,” 6O replied, waves of pity cresting in her chest. “At least, not directly... just keep your mind on the mission for today, alright?”

2B managed a low, strangled half-chuckle in the back of her throat, despite herself. “It's odd to hear that coming from you.”

“Yeah, maybe it is,” said 6O, unable to even force a laugh of her own, as she pried herself off of 2B's bed, hand sliding from her arm. “I'll be in contact when you land, okay?”

2B absent-mindedly nodded, before standing up with her, and straightening her skirt out. 6O nodded once sharply in return, though she felt as if it was as much to steady herself as it was to be polite.

“6O?” 2B said, softly, as the operator reached out to the access panel on the door.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.”

6O smiled, sadly. What she would have given, to hear those words under better circumstances.

“You bet,” she said, without looking back at 2B, her eyes glistening. “Catch you later.”

 


	3. Chapter 3

“You know 21O's gonna kill me when she finds out this is how I used my downtime, right?”

“Oh, _shh,_ don't worry about her,” 6O said, cheerfully. “Besides, when was the last time you even got to have a bath?”

“I mean, it's been a while, but... wait, how'd you even know I like baths?”

6O swallowed hard. Apparently, it hadn't been this particular time around that she'd found out that little morsel of information.

“Uh, well,” she started, slowly, piecing together the sentence as she went, “Operators know a lot more than you might think, Nines...”

“Well that's unfair,” 9S said, as they crossed over the bridge that led to the maintenance wing. “What else are you hiding?”

“Hmm... nothing important,” 6O replied, with a wink, breathing an internal sigh of relief.

“Yeah yeah, sure,” 9S said, sighing softly. “Just don't go telling 2B any of the embarrassing stuff, okay?”

6O stifled a giggle. “I think you do a good enough job of embarrassing yourself around her already, actually – and as you know, _one_ affirmation will – ”

“Hey, no.” 9S smiled, just a little. It had been a while since he'd had any time alone with his friend. 6O had managed to save him from one of those accursed reconnaissance missions, by pulling a few strings and telling a couple of little white lies, and he was endlessly thankful. _Nobody_ enjoyed the desert runs. Nobody.

As one might have expected, the maintenance wing was drab, and dull; more so even than the rest of the Bunker. Disgruntled healer-types criss-crossed each other in the hallways, mumbling affirmations to Command, or to their Operators, while a steady line of combat units meandered back and forth, waiting for their turn. The scene was rather hectic, and 9S wondered if 2B was even a little thankful she didn't have to deal with this mess, when it was time for her own maintenance.

They took the door to the baths – despite what 2B said about the practice, sometimes it was much more efficient to simply scrub oneself clean, rather than re-fit an entire set of dermal plates and artificial skin. There was ongoing, unofficial research into the effects of a long soak on android morale (conducted mostly through the relaying of information between Scanners and inquisitive members of the Resistance), but 9S already knew there was nothing quite like it. Bathing with someone else, though... that was new.

“6O?” he called, from his own changing booth. Despite it all, some androids preferred privacy, and valued their dignity. He poked his head around the corner. “Uh, are you ready?”

“Hey, no peeking!”

“I wasn't – whoa, you know I wouldn't –”

“Relax,” said 6O, a teasing edge to her voice, as she stepped out of her own booth, dressed in a black, one-piece bathing suit – it wasn't dissimilar to the leotard 2B wore underneath her own uniform. “I know you only have eyes for just the one girl...”

9S flushed pink for a second, before managing to get a hold of himself again.

“Yeah, maybe,” he said, allowing himself another tiny, strained smile. “What about you? Got your eye on anyone?”

6O sighed, as they rounded the corner, passing into the steamy heat of the main bathing room. She pulled at her braids, de-tangling them absent-mindedly.

“I'm kinda too busy for something like that, right now...”

9S didn't respond – it felt like pushing for more would be a little rude, and doubtless she hadn't brought him here to get involved in those kinds of conversations.

They made their way past the group of dirt-caked combat units, working hard at scrubbing themselves clean, and claimed one of the smaller side rooms for themselves. They settled down in opposite corners, and didn't even speak for a few minutes, as they let the warm, soothing sensation of the hot water wash over them.

“That uh, one girl's been being really weird with me, lately, actually...” 9S said, eventually, his eyes shut, neck resting against the edge of the bath.

“Mm?”

“Yeah, I mean... well, you know how she is, but the last week's just been – well, pretty impossible, actually...”

“Aw, no,” 6O said, doing her utmost to keep her voice steady. Of _course_ he'd notice. “Well, she's probably just got a lot on her mind, you know? She's been doing all those weapons trials on the side, too.”

“I guess so,” he said, eyebrows knitting together. “I just wish...”

6O watched his face, as he trailed off. “What do you wish?”

“That things were different,” he sighed. “Nothing feels right any more, I just...”

“I think we all want that, Nines,” whispered 6O, her voice barely carrying above the sound of the gentle flow of the water. “2B included.”

“Sorry,” he said, after a little pause.

“What for?”

“Sounding selfish, dragging down the mood... I guess it's just not a good time for me, right now,” he mumbled.

“We're all stressed out right now, I think,” 6O said, touching a hand to his knee. “Just try to relax for now, okay? I can't always get you off recon duty, you know...”

“I know, and... how _did_ you do that, anyway? I thought 21O kept tabs on all my assignments.”

“Well... 11S and 42S get more free time than you, so I just...”

“You switched it?”

“You needed a break,” 6O said, with a light shrug of her shoulders. “They work you too hard.”

“That's what I'm always saying,” he said, nodding in agreement.

“Relax, now,” 6O repeated, tenderly. “I need to unwind too, so just... stop thinking for now, okay?”

“Oh, sorry,” 9S echoed, sheepishly. He closed his eyes again, letting himself slip further down into the water.

6O shook her head gently at him, before following suit.

 

**

 

She had barely even managed to step into her boots and tidy her hair, when she received the notification, directly in the middle of her visual feed – she didn't read all of it, but she didn't have to. She had gleaned enough information at first glance to put together something along the lines of, 'Command Room, now'.

Inwardly, she cursed the timing, but complaining wasn't the right state of mind to get herself into, if it had anything to do with what she suspected it did. Breaking into a power-stride in the corridor, she pushed her way past the queue of combat units – they didn't seem to care, and she didn't have the time to apologise, anyway.

9S had left earlier, to prepare for his next deployment. He'd left with that same forlorn look on his face, disguised with a vague smile, which made 6O's chest ache. She knew it'd be tearing 2B apart at the manufacturing seams, too, which only made her feel worse.

The Command Room felt incredibly loud, she thought – perhaps no more than usual, but after the calming hours spent in the quiet baths, _any_ noise was too much noise. She glanced over to the left on her way to the elevator, noting the vacant seat at the far end. 21O's.

Steeling herself, she took a step forward onto the elevator – sure enough, 21O was there at the bridge already, in conversation with the Commander.

_Come on,_ 6O thought, willing the elevator to go faster with every fibre of her being. Every second she was away from them, the higher the chances were of something going awry.

She was out of breath, but made sure to salute, as she walked up to the pair of them. 21O shot her a _look_ , before continuing.

“...not only that, but he is making a habit of shirking his duties – whether it is down to her influence or not is impossible to say.”

“Wait, whose influence? What duties?” 6O asked, still breathing heavily. She offered a token salute, almost forgetting just who she was talking to.

“It's nice of you to join us, 6O,” said the Commander. It wasn't immediately clear if she was annoyed or not, but she showed no real sign of it, if she was. “Operator 21O was simply relaying some concerns to me; she feels that you aren't taking the assignment seriously.”

“Um, really? I thought the last time we talked would've cleared up any issues, ma'am...” She stole a sidelong glance over at 21O, who didn't look back at her. “But really, what duties?”

“A reconnaissance mission was scheduled to be undertaken by unit 9S today,” 21O stated. “It was not.”

“Oh, that was – I did that,” 6O said, quickly. “11S and 42S expressed interest in that region before, so I um, I just moved him to a free block.” She hoped nobody would look too far into that claim. They had both apparently been beyond irritated.

21O folded her arms, scowling.

“Without informing his Operator?” asked the Commander, bemused.

“Well, yeah, it was just a recon... anyone could've handled that, right?”

“May I ask why you took it upon yourself to clear his schedule?”

“He's...” 6O paused for a moment, deciding how best to proceed. “He's been under a lot of pressure, lately, and –”

“This is war,” the Commander said, coldly. “We're all under 'a lot of pressure'.”

“Well yeah, but...”

“If you could refrain from fraternization with any units under scrutiny – that is, ones that are not _directly_ in your care, we would all be grateful, 6O.”

“Yes, ma'am...”

“That aside,” the Commander went on, “the other reports I've received are mildly troubling.”

_Other reports?_ 6O could've torn her fellow Operator's head clean from its fixings.

“Uh, really?” she began, keeping as measured of a tone as she could. “Like I said, the last time we both talked, I thought we ironed all of that stuff out...”

The Commander gave 6O a piercing look. “Is there anything you wish to tell me, 6O?”

“No – well yes, but it's – there's... you know,” 6O stammered, feeling a little backed into a corner. She hadn't wanted to go down this route, and it'd take some quick deliberation, but –

“Yes?”

“It's to do with... you know, 2 _B_.”

The Commander looked taken aback for a moment, before nodding once.

“21O, if you could please give us a minute.”

“Is there something I should be aware of, ma'am?” 21O asked, a flash of confusion and anger in her expression.

“I'm afraid that it's classified,” was the response.

As 21O turned, wordlessly, she gave 6O a look of pure venom, before walking away, heels clicking twice as loudly as any others in the room.

6O was thinking, fast. Truthfully, the problems in the previous logs had nothing to do with 2B's assignment at all, but she'd had to remove 21O from the equation before she could do any more damage. There hadn't been a choice.

“Has 2B said something to you?” asked the Commander, now that the two of them were alone.

“It's – it's actually not her,” said 6O, swallowing audibly. She hoped she was making the right choice. “It's... 9S.”

“Go on,” came the reply, along with a raised eyebrow.

“He's just... been acting a little different, lately, I dunno – what I'm saying is, the reason I didn't come to you with those logs, is... well...”

“6O,” the Commander interjected. “I understand.”

“Uh, you do?” She hadn't even gotten the chance to offer up a lie. What did she mean, 'she understood'?

“Unit 9S was confirmed to have accessed confidential YoRHa files some days ago,” she said, softly. “I... had not planned on taking anything Operator 21O said at anything other than face value.”

_Oh no._

_No._

_No, no._

_Not again._

_That was why he had been so – no, no no no._

_2B, no, she..._

_Not now, not now, not now, please, not now –_

“Everything I've been told today makes sense, given the circumstances.”

“Yes, ma'am. I'm sorry if I've... caused any trouble.”

“I only ask that in the future, you do your best to avoid raising suspicion, especially...” she lowered her voice to a murmur, gesturing upwards with her eyes, to the Operator workstations. “As I said – please continue to watch over your _own_ assigned unit, and let her continue to handle hers.”

“Y-yes, ma'am. Sorry, ma'am. May I... be excused, ma'am?”

There was a nod, and the Commander's expression softened, for just a moment. “I'll relay the relevant details to you, when the time comes.”

“Yes, ma'am. G-glory to mankind.”

6O walked away, head spinning, her black box practically in her mouth, as she got back on the elevator. She'd have to find 9S, and talk to him one last time, before he – no, she should talk to 2B first, let her know what was – _shit._

How she wished that her bluff hadn't been the actual reason.

She met 21O's eyes, as the elevator climbed to the upper level. Truly, she didn't know how to respond, so she simply let her eyes fall downwards, looking squarely at the floor. She wrapped her arms around herself, and left the Command Room.

Everything else could wait.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this took me so long to upload, I've been distracted by games, and games, and other games... among other things, anyway.  
> Leave a comment as usual, tell me what you think!   
> Thank you for reading.

Curled up in a tight ball on her bed, 6O shivered, doing her utmost to hold the tears back. She'd looked for 9S everywhere, but had no luck – nor had anyone else known where he was. 2B was planetside, recovering in the Resistance camp, and she wouldn't be back until later that night. She cursed the weapons trials, silently, then cursed YoRHa, the Commander, and whoever or whatever else came to mind. None of this was fair. None of it.

She'd hoped that she'd be able to force herself into some kind of a haphazard attempt at resting, but the thoughts piled up every time she tried, pushing their way to the forefront of her mind and bringing everything around her sharply back into focus.

A gentle whimper left her lips, as she thought of 2B, who had tried her absolute hardest to be even more disgustingly distant than usual, so far unaware that it hadn't mattered in the slightest. She wanted to be the one to tell her, not the Commander. Someone so clinical, so devoted to their job – that wasn't what she needed. 6O would be there to soften the blow, as she'd promised she would be, as she always was, no matter how much it ripped her emotional center to pieces.

That was _her_ job, wasn't it? 'The unit directly under her care'. She had to take _care_ of 2B. To make it right, as best as she could. It didn't matter how much it hurt; she wasn't the one carving up the one she loved. 6O was losing a friend, but it was only temporary. They'd grow closer again, as they always did. They'd make new memories again together, as friends, as they always did.

2B didn't have that privilege. 6O wondered if she was jealous of her for that, sometimes, but then she shook her head; she was probably just relieved that 9S had a friend to confide in to begin with.

Sobs began to take her over, against her will. It was all just too much. She clutched her pillow tighter, as if it would somehow be able to take the pain away this time, but it never could.

There was a soft beep, then, signalling to her that there was someone waiting at her door. She wiped her eyes against the sleeve on her left arm, the leather-esque material doing little to help, instead simply smearing the tears all over her face. She exhaled heavily, picking up her pillow and rubbing her face against it, before tossing it back against her bed, leaving her face red, and her eyes a mess. If 2B was back early, she didn't want her to see her like this.

“Just a second,” 6O called out, tidying up her bed, and vaguely attempting to get her hair back into some kind of a deliberate style. Her braids were long gone for the day, but she didn't want to _look_ like the dishevelled mess that she really was, right now. “It's open,” she said, pressing her fingers to the panel, then moving to sit on the bed.

It wasn't 2B's combat visor that greeted her eyes, however – it was 21O's forever-harsh glare.

“Oh, great,” 6O murmured, looking down at the floor.

“I think we should talk,” 21O said, quietly, as the door shut behind her.

“It's really, _really_ not the best time,” 6O replied, avoiding her gaze. “Seriously, just... not today, okay? I don't even care why you did what you did, but –”

“What did the Commander want to speak to you about?”

The rudeness, the outright audacity of it, was really just a step too far, right now.

“She _said_ it was _classified,_ ” 6O said, “so unless you want to take it up with her, you can just leave, alright?”

“Have you been crying?”

“Does it matter? I don't want you here!”

“Was it about 2B?”

“What part of – just get _out!_ You seriously expect to do what you did, and then have me talk to you like it's nothing?!” 6O stood up, furious, coming eye to eye with her 'fellow' Operator. “I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to!”

“I did what I thought was best, given what I know,” 21O said, without taking a step back.

“What you thought was _–_ you don't have a _clue!_ ” 6O screamed, unable to hold it in. “You don't know anything about any of this! You don't even talk to your own unit, let alone mine, you total – you absolute _bitch!_ ”

“That is irrelevant,” 21O retorted, her voice only mostly steady.

“Irrelevant? Are you saying 9S is irrelevant?”

“If I was, I would not be here,” 21O hissed. “Do you think that I'm here for myself? That I'm simply here out of curiosity? I'm here for _him_.”

6O gasped, loudly. _“What?_ Like that?! If you even paid the slightest bit of attention to him, you'd know that he – he... he's...”

“Don't be ridiculous,” 21O snapped, turning red all the same. “I'm well aware of –”

“You – don't – understand – _anything!_ ” 6O wailed, throwing herself forward and pummelling her loosely balled fists against 21O's chest with every word. “You're more like a machine than the machines!”

There was no real strength to any of her blows; she was far too physically and emotionally drained to even match the strength of any other Operator model. 21O simply stood and took what she gave, until 6O all but fell against her, sobbing weakly.

“You don't get it,” she wept, “you don't – you can't...”

21O sighed, softly, after watching the girl expend her reserves entirely, turning her eyes downward. “So tell me, then. How am I supposed to approach the assignment any differently, if you refuse to fill me in on the details?”

“You want me to trust you?! You'll go straight to her, because all that matters to you is this stupid assignment, you don't care about –”

“I care,” she replied, simply.

“I...” 6O started, between a pair of nasty sniffles. “2B is... she's all that matters to me, so...”

“As 9S is to me,” 21O stated. “You have my word.”

6O was torn. More than anything, she wanted – no, _needed_ – someone to confide in, but her, of all people? There wasn't a trace of dishonesty in her voice, but would her loyalty win out over whatever her idea of caring was?

“You really do _have_ to keep it between us,” 6O said, looking up at her at an odd angle, her head still resting on the other woman's shoulder. It wasn't something she could keep inside any longer. “Or you'll get both our memories wiped...”

“I realise that I shouldn't ask,” 21O acknowledged, finally, “but I can only act on what I know.”

“He really means more to you than YoRHa?” 6O asked, peeling herself off of 21O's shoulder. “Sorry, I got your shoulder... it's soaked, lemme just...”

“Never mind that,” 21O said, shaking her head, “and yes, he... his safety comes first.”

6O winced. “Then why, _why_ did you go to her, back then? I – I had it all under control, I was...”

“Because I believed that 2B was to blame for his recent state of mind,” 21O said, bluntly. She was a lot of things, but she was at least honest, 6O reasoned. “Are you saying that isn't the case?”

“It is, but... it's only because I told her about it,” 6O said, falling softly onto her bed, her hair once more returning to its former messy glory.

“I see,” 21O said, seemingly a little surprised.

“I pretty much told her to pretend he didn't even exist,” she went on, voice shaking, still entirely unsure if she was doing the right thing.

“Why?”

“Because of you,” 6O said, almost fearful of ruining their fragile truce. “I – I thought if you saw anything that wasn't a hundred percent professional between them, I thought that you'd...”

21O's eyes narrowed for an instant, as if she were about to let loose a scathing remark, but if she had been, she bit it back. “I understand,” she muttered. “Though you must understand, given what I knew, I really did have little choice but to do what I thought was best for him. I... did not want him to face any consequences.”

Those last few words broke 6O again, prompting even 21O to take a step forward, and sit herself down on the very edge of the bed.

“How bad is it?”

“It's the w-worst,” cried 6O, into her sheets, “it's the absolute worst thing they could do...”

21O stayed silent.

“9S, he...” 6O pushed herself onwards, forcing the words out. She told 21O everything of E-types, and 9S's impending 'reset' – or so they called it, as if it were simply a button to press – and of the reasons behind it, but omitted anything that 2B herself had sworn her to secrecy over.

21O simply listened, though she trembled slightly, as 6O lay the deepest secrets of her existence bare in front of her.

“So, that's why he...”

“Yeah,” breathed 6O as she finished, her throat raw. “It's never 'corrupted data', and it's never 'no access point signal', it's just. Yeah.”

“I see,” 21O began, slowly. “All this time, 2B was – this was her assignment?”

“Mm...”

“How long have you kept this to yourself?” 21O asked, her eyebrows knitted together in a rare show of concern.

6O answered her question with a question, clearly hurt. “Do you really think I _wanted_ to?”

“I don't think anyone would want this,” 21O replied, softly, unfazed by her tone of voice, “but you can't continue this way.”

“I don't have a choice,” 6O said, shaking her head, her hair whipping back and forth softly on the pillow. “I _have_ to look after her!”

21O frowned, but it wasn't a frown that told a tale of disdain, or anger – it was most definitely worry that was painted on her features.

“Who looks after you, then?”

“Why would _you_ care?” 6O snapped, unintentionally, before adding a sheepish apology. “Sorry, I just – sorry...”

“Don't,” 21O replied. “I'm the one that should – what I mean to say is –”

“You didn't know,” 6O said, sensing where that line of thought was heading. “I was mad, but I should be mad at – well, not you, so I just... look, let's try to move on from it, okay?”

21O didn't reply, but continued to hold her gaze.

“O-or something,” 6O appended, hastily.

“I have no desire to hold a meaningless grudge,” 21O said, after a long pause. “We're now on the same page, aren't we?”

“Yeah, we are, but...”

“Then perhaps we should focus our attention on getting to the end of this assignment,” 21O continued. “So that we can both focus on what matters.”

“Okay,” 6O said, sullenly. “Hey, don't get any ideas, I'm still not gonna do anything to put 2B at –”

“Calm,” 21O stated, plainly. “I understand; we'll work through it. For now, though, you should rest. You've been through enough, for one day.”

6O was more than a little taken aback at the other woman's change in tone – it wasn't like her at all, but at the same time, it was more like her than she herself could ever know.

“We just started getting really close again,” 6O sighed, the sigh itself threatening to turn into another round of sobbing. “And 2B, she – it's just... none of this is fair, and none of it's okay, and...”

“It isn't,” said 21O, quietly. “But they remain our orders, and...”

She couldn't find a way to finish her sentence in a way that could justify just what was taking place, though. Neither of them could.

“Are you okay?” 6O asked, after a long, uncomfortable silence.

“No,” 21O replied, truthfully.

6O went quiet, curling in on herself further still. 21O simply sat in place, hoping the words would come to her, eventually.

They never did.

It was only when she realised that 6O had finally drifted into rest mode that she left the room, her hands shaking uncontrollably.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ufufu. Finally getting back on track with writing.  
> Leave a comment as usual if you have anything nice or nasty to say!

“Hey, you're 2B's Operator, right? I'm 9S, it's nice to finally meet you in person!”

6O rearranged the shocked, almost sickened look on her face into her best attempt at a cheerful one before she reluctantly turned around to face the voice.

“Oh, hey!” 6O said, the little muscles next to her eyes straining and struggling against turning downwards. “Was 2B talking me up as usual, then?”

“Sort of? Uh, she told me to come check if you had any data requests, just while we're doing a little recon.”

 _Another lie it is, then,_ thought 6O. It was obvious that 2B had sent him to talk to her, so that the pair of them would be able to begin rebuilding their friendship again, as soon as possible. Self-sacrificing again, as usual.

“Um, well,” she began, before the Commander's words swam to the forefront of her mind. _Your own assigned unit. Your own assigned unit. Your own. Your own._

For now, 2B's kindness would have to go to waste.

She'd explain later. “Actually, nope! I'm kinda backed up working on data from her last mission still... why don't you ask 21O, though? She's always out for that kinda stuff, right?”

“Yeah, she is,” he said with a nod. “Are you guys close?”

“Well, we... work together a lot? I mean, we don't really _talk_ too much, but – hey, don't change the subject! Go talk to her now, alright?”

“Sure, but... you really don't need anything? It's no trouble, y'know...”

The corners of 6O's mouth tightened into a sympathetic grimace, but she managed to keep her expression mostly neutral.

“It's really okay,” 6O replied, realising now how 2B must feel every single day of her life, as she tried to keep everything that made her – well, her – out of her voice. “Hey, 9S, I don't wanna get yelled at for messing up the analysis here, so...”

“Oh! Oh, right, sorry, the – yeah, sorry,” he said, beyond apologetically, quickly turning on his heel. “I'll uh, go talk to 21O, then.”

With that, he was gone, before she even had a chance to pretend not to react.

It was the right decision, though. As much as the crushing, choking feeling rose up inside of her throat, she knew that for now, it was all she could do.

She chanced a look over at the other partner of the twin platforms of the Command room; she saw him excitedly gesturing at 21O, but she couldn't quite see her reactions to it. 6O could only hope that she wasn't treating him just as coldly as she just had, but knew that it was the most likely outcome, in the end.

The data on her screen had actually been compiled and sorted through, hours before. She stared at it, then stared some more, until her visual sensors began to show signs of blurring and tearing, yet she still didn't look away.

It seemed to take her a small eternity to notice the flashing alert in the corner of the screen; so long, in fact, that by the time she opened it to see the sender, said sender was already behind her, tapping her on the shoulder.

“Come outside for a moment,” said 21O, an implacable expression on her face, “... if you have the time.”

Puzzled, but nodding nonetheless, 6O reached over and shut off her console, before following the silent figure in front of her up the stairs, and out of the door. She couldn't help but notice that 21O had an entirely different way of walking to her – it was more of a measured, confident stride than her own tentative little steps, and she found herself needing to speed up to keep pace. If the situation hadn't been what it currently was, perhaps she would've spent more time wondering how two people with the exact same body could use it so differently.

“Um, where are we...?” 6O asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

21O stopped in the corridor, almost suddenly enough for 6O to bump into her. “The cafeteria,” she said, turning to face her.

“Huh? But I thought you were one of those, 'we-don't-need-to' types...”

“I am,” muttered 21O. “You aren't.”

“I mean, I – it's nice, but – you don't have to...”

“It is as good a place as any to hold a conversation, isn't it?”

“It's just, I would've expected you to take me back to your room, or something? I dunno, it's just...”

“Would you prefer that?” asked 21O, sounding halfway exasperated.

“No, no! It's fine,” 6O said, hastily. “Let's go...”

The cafeteria was quiet, as usual – androids who believed that food was a waste of time outnumbered those who enjoyed it for the novelty, and so it wasn't hard for the pair of them to find a somewhat deserted corner of the hall. It was staffed by one solitary Healer-type, though 6O didn't recognise her. Her mind wandered, just for a moment, to the thought that a YoRHa soldier had been created with the express purpose of serving entirely unnecessary things.

“I-I'll get the food,” 6O stammered out. Despite it being 21O's invitation, and even though she felt a little more at ease around the other woman, her presence was... well, it was rather oppressive. “Do you actually, uh... do you want...?”

“If you like,” 21O replied, calmly. “Though I did come here to talk, not to eat.”

“Right, okay,” 6O said, with a sharp nod. What was so important that she couldn't have just told her over the communications channel? Their break technically wasn't until much later, and 21O wasn't one to break protocol, so it really was a mystery to her.

She shook her head, before vaguely mumbling and pointing at a pot of something, then a bowl of something else, before placing them onto a tray, her hands shaking enough to make the crockery and utensils clatter in place.

It didn't go unnoticed by 21O, as she returned to her seat; she pursed her lips and reached up to help with the tray, but stopped short of commenting.

“Thanks,” 6O said, breathing out heavily. “That's uh, vegetable broth, I thought you might... well, it's pretty safe.”

“I see,” said 21O, picking up her spoon tentatively, and swirling the contents around the bowl. Evidently, cutlery wasn't an alien concept to her, though 6O supposed that made sense.

“Um, it's easier for them to make meals that use water, mostly,” 6O went on, attempting to break the tense atmosphere. “It's already transported here from Earth for a few things, like maintenance, and there's some Resistance members who grow the vegetables for us...”

“It's all rather pointless, isn't it?” asked 21O, softly. 6O wasn't sure if this was still about broth or not any more, but continued in earnest.

“I mean, it's not like it isn't a new experience... I get what you're saying, but we had to've been given taste sensors for a reason, right?”

“Mm,” muttered 21O, before pushing her veil to one side and taking a tentative spoonful of the food. “It's nice.”

“Uh, you aren't gonna take that off?” 6O asked, pulling off her own veil and laying it carefully on the table beside her. “You're gonna get soup all over it...”

21O looked up at her with a half bemused, half irritated expression. “It's against regulations to remove your veil outside of your quarters.”

“Yeah, um – pretty sure it's against regulations to get it covered in food, too...” 6O said, digging in to her own, which came with some kind of a meat. It was an acquired taste, even by android standards. “I kinda hope I can go see where they grow it all, one day.”

“You do?” 21O asked, almost absent-mindedly. 6O noted that she had removed her veil after all, and considered it a small victory.

“Yeah! I mean, it's on the list... there's a lot of things I want to see for myself,” 6O said, a little excitement creeping back into her voice. “When it's all over, I mean.”

“I see...”

“Don't you wanna visit, too?”

“No,” said 21O, without a second of hesitation.

“But you're interested in all that old world stuff... you really don't – I mean, you don't want to see it all first-hand?”

“I'm much more comfortable examining data in a setting like this,” 21O replied, matter-of-factly.

“Right! Um, so,” 6O said, quickly trying to avoid an awkward silence, “what did you want to talk about?”

21O's eyes looked up from her broth for a moment, catching 6O's. “I saw 9S come to your station, earlier.”

“Oh, that? That – um, that was 2B's doing, she uh... doesn't know I'm not supposed to be talking to him for a bit, so I guess she just thought she was doing the right thing,” 6O began, slowly. “In the end though, I just... I made him feel so bad, you know? He didn't even know me, and I made him think I'm just this really cold, horrible –”

She stopped halfway through her sentence, realising just who she was talking to.

“Sorry, I wasn't trying to...”

21O dismissed it with a wave of her hand, though her lips tightened all the same. “It is what it is.”

“I actually sent him your way,” 6O continued, apprehensively. “He looked excited.”

“He always does,” murmured 21O, sipping at her broth. “Why did you, though? He didn't have any reason to come by.”

“W-well, you know, haha...”

“I don't know, 6O.”

“I mean, he's the one who told me you were always asking for old world data, so I just...”

“You just...?”

“Look, isn't it a good thing?” 6O said, getting a little frustrated with the situation. “I'm not even supposed to be his friend right now, so is him spending a little more time with you so bad? You get your data, he has someone to talk to, right?”

21O pushed her vegetables around the bottom of her bowl, without looking up.

“It's not that easy,” she said, finally.

“You're like, the only person that's even allowed to be close to him right now,” 6O said, raising her voice to a higher, almost pleading pitch. “You know 2B can't, now I can't... and we don't know how long this whole thing's gonna last, so...”

“It isn't as if I haven't...” 21O started, trailing off.

“C'mon,” 6O said, softly, trying to calm her tone back down, “it's okay to tell me.”

21O looked up at her, almost as if to judge 6O's statement on her expression alone, before sighing, gently.

“It wasn't always this way,” she said, after a long pause, during which 6O did her best to bite her tongue. “But starting over, so many times... it is easy to see why _she_ has to act the way she does, now.”

“I think... we're all feeling that way, right now, yeah,” 6O said, suddenly unsure of what to do with her hands, or of what expression was best suited. “But you know, he's still the same as he always was, and he's always gonna fall into the same habits, so it's just...”

21O remained quiet, but kept her eyes on 6O.

“I'm just saying, no matter what, he's always gonna be there to be your friend, if you let him,” 6O said, a soft, hopefully reassuring smile on her face. “I know it hurts, I _know,_ but it's gonna hurt the both of you even more if you keep things the way they are...”

Still, more silence.

“Hey, if what you told me in my room was true...”

“It was,” 21O breathed, holding her spoon to the side of the bowl, her hand shaking.

“You don't _have_ to be like the rest of us do, right now,” 6O said, her voice barely above a whisper, “you can be there for him. He needs you now, you know?”

6O reached out to place a gentle hand on top of 21O's, but no sooner did her skin make contact with hers, the spoon fell to the table with a clang, the hand withdrawing.

“I need to return to my duties,” 21O said, making to stand up.

“Wait! You don't –”

“Thank you for the food,” came the weak reply, as 21O turned, picking up her discarded veil.

6O reached out, purely out of instinct, grabbing a tight hold of the other woman's free hand.

“Please, think about it...” she said, squeezing 21O's tensed fingers between her own.

“I... will,” 21O whispered, her muscles relaxing.

6O relinquished her grip, and turned back to the table, deciding that risking even one more word on the subject was too dangerous.

“See you later,” was all she felt she was allowed to say, given the mood. She had so much more, but it'd all have to wait.

21O opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

Her stride was far less composed than before.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick update, what?! No, seriously?!  
> Also, real talk: these two? Ultimate BFFs.

6O hesitated at the entrance to 2B's quarters. Thanks to a lack of recon, and partly down to the completion of her weapons trials, she had effectively been 'grounded' (or whatever you called grounded in space) on the Bunker for the last few days.

6O had given her those days to settle back in to a long-forgotten routine, but there were things that needed to be cleared up, and updates to give. She gave a tentative knock, before shaking her head and pressing the buttons on the side of the door. Sometimes, she really wondered where that stupid habit had come from.

Had she been paying a little more attention, she probably would have heard 2B call, “it's open, but wait a minute,” but since her mind seemed to be elsewhere – as was usual, lately – she opened it herself and stepped through, without saying a word.

2B sighed, loudly. She was half-dressed, her combat uniform twisted, and only mostly clinging to her upper body. Her hair was a mess, tied to the side in a loose tail; she had only managed to get half a stocking on, with the other resting inexplicably on the bookcase to 6O's immediate left.

“Oh! Um, I can come back later,” 6O said, screwing her eyes shut out of pure reflex, and only now registering the vague request from a minute ago.

“You may as well stay now,” 2B said, giving up with her uniform for now and flopping back on to her bed.

“Uh...” 6O began, looking at the mess around her. There were books from said bookcase littering the floor, an overturned chair, and a couple of pillows in places that pillows shouldn't be. “Having trouble with your uniform?”

“Evidently,” 2B muttered, her own eyes closed.

“Do you... want a hand with that?”

2B turned to face her, with an expression that spoke of absolute frustration and exhaustion.

“Please.”

“Sure thing,” 6O said, softly, angling 2B gently from behind to get at the elastic and ribbon of her upper outfit. “Just one of those days, huh?”

“Not quite,” 2B replied, leaning forwards to allow 6O easier access.

“Lift up – there we go! So um, want to tell me what made you throw this kind of tantrum?”

2B slid her other arm into the top of her over-shirt, making a confused face. “Tantrum?”

“Um – have you seen your room?! Hello?” 6O exclaimed, standing up to retrieve the stray stocking from the bookcase. “I know things are hard, but it's you who's gotta deal with –”

“I didn't get mad,” 2B said, exasperated, as 6O knelt down in front of her. “It wasn't like that.”

“So...?” 6O asked, entirely lost, before rolling up the stocking and holding it out to 2B. “Keeping secrets from your Operator is really not okay, you know...”

2B's eyes looked almost glazed over, but she managed to squeeze out a few unfortunate, grudging words.

“I... a few hours ago, with 9S, we...”

6O gasped, slapping a hand to her mouth, and standing bolt upright. “No, no, no! – _please_ tell me you didn't!”

2B exhaled, heavily, running a hand over her mouth, but nothing else escaped her lips.

“2B... you... you idiot! You – idiot! Idiot! Idiot! _Idiot!”_ Each word was punctuated by the light slap of a loose stocking whipping against 2B's body. “What were you thinking?! I told you to stay away! You know your vitals are recorded, don't you? You know there's – you know what it's going to do to him!”

“I know! I know all of it!” 2B shouted back, angrily, tearing the stocking from 6O's hand. The atmosphere had changed in an instant, but the anger subsided as quickly as it had surfaced. “I... didn't mean for it to happen, it just – he was here, and he...”

6O breathed out, letting her own indignation dissipate into the cool, conditioned air.

“What happened?” she asked, sounding much more like herself, sitting down next to 2B.

“I... he was so sad,” 2B whispered. “He told me he felt so lonely, he told me he...”

“Oh, no, no no no,” 6O stammered out. “This is – no, it's all my fault!”

“Fault?”

“I... it was what I wanted to talk to you about when I came here,” she went on. “I'm not allowed to talk to him right now, unless it's mission related...”

“Shit,” 2B spat, in a rare display of vulgarity. “That... makes sense.”

“I know you tried to help, but it was actually the Commander that said I had to leave him to 21O...”

“Then it isn't your fault.”

“Yeah, but I... maybe I could've – if I could've handled it better, then maybe... you know?”

“Don't waste your time thinking about it,” 2B said, leaning back against the wall, and staring down at her feet.

“Are you okay?” 6O asked, tenderly, following suit and reclining alongside her.

“Mostly.”

“How was he? After...”

“Better,” 2B said, plainly.

“Did you start it, or... did he, or...”

“Does it matter?”

“Um, I guess not,” 6O replied, carefully. “Now what, though?”

“Don't know.”

“21O's not mad any more,” 6O went on, realising that topic was at a dead end for now. “Or well, I dunno, she's always _kinda_ mad, but not at us, at least.”

“What changed?”

“I kinda... uh, I might've lost my temper and hit her a bit...”

“You did what?” 2B asked, incredulous.

“I don't think I hurt her! I just... okay, well, after that, she asked what the matter was, so I decided to trust her, with – well, with a lot of things, you know? She cares about 9S a lot too, so –”

“Excuse me?” 2B asked, tensing up.

“N-not like that! All Operators get like that with their own units, it's just... well, we can't really help it,” 6O said, emphasising her point by taking 2B's hair out of its loose, messy tie and beginning to comb through it with her fingers. “We worry, okay?”

“I... see,” 2B murmured, relaxing, and putting up no resistance to what the other girl was doing.

“Even if we don't want to, we end up knowing everything about you,” 6O went on, de-tangling as she spoke. “Although, it's kinda one-sided – don't you ever wish you knew everything about me?”

“No,” 2B said, though a small smirk found its way onto her face, despite it all.

“Hey!” 6O pouted, her finger snagging on a knot of synthetic hair. “Keep 2B-on-a-mission planet-side, got it?”

“... Roger that,” 2B said, with a little sigh. Even though the two of them truly were exact opposites, it was easy enough to let her guard down around 6O, with enough prodding.

“Anyway, 21O's... well, I'm trying to get her to open up to him a little, even if it's just for now,” 6O continued, smoothing out the hair into as close of an approximation to 2B's regular style as she could, “I mean, anyone'd be miserable if they couldn't talk to me, right? Gotta fill the gap somehow...”

2B snorted. “Maybe so.”

“All done,” 6O said proudly, sitting back to admire her handiwork. “Sorta.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, are you really gonna be okay?” 6O asked, unable to help herself, a look of utmost worry on her features.

“I'm honestly not sure,” 2B said, leaning to the side, and resting her head against 6O's shoulder. “I feel... like I made the biggest mistake I possibly could, but somehow... I don't regret it.”

“How come he left so soon, anyway? I don't mean to pry, I just – I want to understand,” 6O said, resting her own head against 2B's. One arm curled around the girl's waist, and the other reached up to brush her newly fixed bangs away from her face, over and over. “I want to help...”

“I made him. He... started asking too many questions all at once, and I was already close to breaking.”

“I get that... and, not that I think you did wrong or anything, but... it must've been kind of a shock to him,” 6O said, softly. "It's only been a couple of weeks, right?"

“I thought it would have been, but...”

“But?”

“It was like he'd never been away,” 2B said, somewhat wistfully. “It was like the first time.”

6O let out a strangled gasp. “This wasn't the first?!”

“You really are naïve,” 2B whispered.

“Jeez, 2B...”

“I'm more of an idiot than I thought,” laughed 2B, though it was hollow; empty.

“Maybe a little,” 6O whispered back.

“I... actually have a request,” 2B murmured into 6O's shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Please do keep working on 21O, I – I can't keep... it's hard, when...”

“Hey, I understand,” 6O said, doing her best to sound reassuring. “I'll make her see sense, don't worry.”

“Maybe stop hitting people too,” 2B muttered, “unless you're looking to get a combat remodel.”

“Hmm... not unless they start passing out stockings for weapons,” 6O giggled, a little embarrassed at her previous outburst, “and hey, um... if you need to be alone for a bit, it's okay to tell me, you know?”

“I... would prefer if you stayed, for a little while,” 2B said, speaking in hushed tones, as if there were a risk the Commander would burst straight through the wall and accuse her of showing emotions.

“Sure thing,” 6O mumbled. “Hey, 2B?”

No response.

“2B?”

6O angled her head to the side, looking down at 2B's face, mouth agape, eyes closed.

“Idiot,” she echoed, quietly, with a muted smile.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it even possible to tell which one of these two is cuter  
> I don't think it is
> 
> Please leave a comment if you liked it!  
> (Tell me who you think is cuter too)

Despite being stood perpendicular to 21O's direct line of sight, and no doubt within her peripheral vision for a good minute and a half, 6O found herself incredibly irked that she hadn't been taken notice of yet.

“Are you really gonna just pretend I'm not here until I go away?”

“You didn't say anything,” 21O said, “so I simply assumed you were here to gawk.”

“G– excuse me?! You can be _so_ rude, sometimes, you know?”

“Standing in silence staring at me isn't rude?”

6O puffed her cheeks out and narrowed her eyes. “Are you gonna come to the cafeteria with me, or not?”

“That's... what you came to ask?”

“It's your scheduled break,” 6O said, her face relaxing.

“Why do you know that?”

“Does it matter?” asked 6O, channelling her inner 2B. “You're literally analysing soil quality right now...”

“I simply wished to further investigate why the flora was–”

“Any other time? Plants, flowers – yup! Real cool conversation! Right now? You are absolutely coming with me,” 6O said, faux-forcefully. She knew she was pushing her line, but hoped she had scored enough points with 21O by now to be able to get away with it.

21O seemed to heavily consider whether she wished to toss 6O over the railings or not, before finally sighing, and pushing her keyboard away.

“You are entirely incorrigible, you realise?”

“Sure!” 6O said, beaming. Operator 6O didn't understand what that word meant, but Operator 6O continued to beam anyway. “So, you're coming, then?”

“It would seem so,” 21O replied, her eyes drifting to the side; she noticed a couple of her neighbouring Operators snickering as she rose from her chair, but chose not to comment. “Let's go, then.”

“Aw, great!” 6O exclaimed, oblivious to the growing giggles around her. “Wanna try the soup I have? It's real good – y'know, after the first eight or so times...”

“I'll have to pass,” said 21O, as the pair of them walked past row after row of desks, and up towards the exit. “Did you really need me to accompany you?”

“Aren't you the one who asked me, last time?”

“Yes,” said 21O, before hastily adding, “but that was only because I had something I needed to discuss with –”

“Jeez, you have to stop trying to find excuses for actually hanging out with someone,” 6O said, rolling her eyes. “It's actually kinda exhausting listening to it, you know?”

“It's not an excuse, it's just...”

“Yeah?”

“Be quiet, 6O,” 21O mumbled, looking away.

6O surreptitiously filed away another 'I-totally-got-her-there' moment to her memories, a little spring in her step as they left the Command room.

“Besides,” 6O went on, as she walked at least three paces in front of 21O, “don't you wanna talk about what you were looking at just now?”

21O's eyes almost seemed to light up, briefly, before she looked away from 6O's back.

“We could have discussed that at my station, if that was the case...”

“You're doing it again...”

“I am _not,_ ” 21O stated, “I simply –”

“Kidding! I'm kidding!” 6O laughed.

Ever since the night she had spent with 2B, 6O had actually been feeling a little better about things – there was at least some semblance of normality, even though she pined for 9S's company at times. 2B had started to come by her quarters again after missions, even when it was simply to express trivial concerns about transmission strength, or to tell stories about 9S to make herself feel better; 6O would listen, sometimes sharing her own anecdotes. It was a decidedly welcome change to how things had been for quite some time.

21O would fill the gaps in 6O's lies when the Commander asked the pair of them to report their findings, though 6O could see the strain in her eyes, and practically feel the pain in her voice at being forced to choose between the work she loved so much, and the unit she apparently cared for enough to risk it all.

Although it wasn't a traditional 'friendship' by any means, 6O at least felt as if she was making _some_ progress.

Most of the time, anyway.

She felt a tug at the shoulder of her uniform, as she went to pick out their seats inside the cafeteria.

“Hm?”

“Not there,” 21O muttered under her breath.

“Huh? Why not? It's only 11O,” 6O said, bemused, looking over at the lone Operator sitting at the corner bench.

“We... don't get along.”

“Really? I mean, I've never really talked to her much,” 6O said, neglecting to mention that her reason for not doing so was merely because 11O had copied her hairstyle – poorly, she might add – without her express permission. “Did you two have a falling out?”

“You could say that,” 21O said, quietly leading 6O over to the opposite corner of the hall. “I did my best to put it behind us, but, well...”

“Uh huh...?” 6O prompted, leaning forward.

“We used to work together, twelve or so years ago. 11O, myself, and 5O –”

“5O?! I _hate_ that stupid little – um, sorry! Go on,” 6O said, quickly, while 21O gave her a blank look. “Please?”

“As I was saying,” 21O said, shaking her head, “she, 11O, and I were tasked with analysing the attack data of some lesser-known machine lifeforms; we were given a week to do so, but it proved... problematic, in the end.”

“How come?” 6O asked, equal parts curious and almost honoured – honoured that 21O had chosen to share even the tiniest snippet of her life with her.

“11O insisted that we did not need to go over the data twice, despite my protests,” 21O went on, “and 5O agreed. When we lost three combat units and two Scanners in one mission – and thus control of the area – to those same machines, I explained the situation to the Commander.”

“Ah,” 6O said, a frown taking shape. “But I mean, they were totally in the wrong... they were actually mad at you after that?”

“5O acknowledged that it was partially her doing, but 11O focused only on the fact that I had 'ratted her out', so to say.”

“You shouldn't care what she thinks!” 6O said, suddenly very animated. “You did the right thing!”

“Do you think so?” 21O asked, softly, looking down at the table.

“Of course! If we lost somewhere like that every day, or even every month, we'd be back to square one in no time!”

“I'm glad you think so,” 21O said. “I did attempt to go through the data again by myself, but by the time I had finished, it was already too late.”

“I'm really sorry,” 6O said, a melancholy air to her voice. She suddenly found herself in possession of a newfound appreciation for just how hard 21O worked.

“It's done with now, but she's never really let it go,” 21O finished, with a sigh. “Why do you hate 5O?”

6O was entirely taken aback – she was being asked questions about _her_ life? By 21O?

“I mean, um...” she stammered out.

“You don't have to tell me,” 21O said, her eyes wandering to the serving area. “It's not important.”

“No, seriously, it's fine! I'm just trying to think of a way to say it without using too many bad words,” 6O said, a complicated look on her face. For a second, she could have sworn she saw a smirk beneath the semi-opaque material of 21O's veil, but if she had, it was gone in an instant.

“While you compose your thoughts on the matter,” 21O joked – _wait, joked?_ – “I'll get your food.”

“Um, just my food? You aren't...?”

“I'm not quite in the mood,” 21O said, before turning to walk away again. “The... meat broth, yes?”

“Nah, I'm actually gonna skip on the meat today... that stuff is savage on your internals, you know?”

21O smiled, just a little, then strode off to the serving counter.

 _She totally just smiled!_ 6O thought, smiling herself. It was evidently contagious.

21O returned less than a minute later with some plain vegetable soup, setting it down neatly in front of 6O.

“So, are you ready to continue?” 21O asked, sitting down.

“Huh?” 6O asked, in the middle of lifting the spoon to her mouth, veil already discarded. “Oh, her! Um, well, basically, it's just...”

Patiently, 21O waited for her to find the words.

“She's always looked down on me, you know?” 6O huffed, taking an angry slurp of broth. “She tells me I'm dumb, she tells me I don't do my job properly, and she thinks she's _so_ much better than me, just because she was made what, like a year before me? As if that matters!”

“I see.”

“On top of that, she totally keeps rubbing her stupid relationship with her own stupid combat unit in my face – like I care! She keeps getting the wrong idea about me and 2B, and I keep _trying_ to explain to her that it's not like that at all, but she keeps spreading stupid rumours, and... ugh!”

“It isn't like that with you and her?”

“Wh– aw, come on, not you too!”

“I'm 'kidding'.”

6O began to pout, but it turned into a giggle before it could take form. “That was so mean!”

21O almost began to laugh herself, but stopped herself at the last second. Her face fell, and she looked directly at 6O.

“6O... why are you doing this?”

“Um,” 6O began, startled. The mood had shifted drastically, in no time at all. “Doing what?”

“Being this way with me,” 21O replied, quietly.

“Are you... not okay with me talking to you like you're my friend?”

“Your... friend?”

“Well, yeah, I mean... you talked about people not being able to move past stuff, right? I kinda like to think I'm not one of those,” 6O said, still bemused.

“Nobody, that is, well,” 21O stuttered, looking truly flustered. “I just don't understand why you asked me here, I –”

“It's just lunch, isn't it?” 6O interjected, her broth abandoned.

“Nobody has ever really...”

6O's eyebrows came together in a pyramid of pity, as she realised just what 21O was saying.

“So then... who _do_ you talk to?”

“Nobody,” 21O echoed. It seemed like a very, very familiar word to her. “Would you mind if – would you excuse me?”

“Hey, c'mon,” 6O said, sounding decidedly worried. “You can't just up and leave after telling me something like that... at least let me walk you back to your room, okay?”

21O looked for a moment as if she might decline, then resigned herself to her fate.

“Alright, then.”

6O picked her veil up from the table, then fell in line behind 21O, as she made her way toward the connecting bridge from the cafeteria to the central ring.

“We've been here so long, though,” 6O whispered, catching up to the other Operator, inclining her head so as to be able to keep her voice low. “You've been alone the whole time?”

“Is it so hard to believe?”

6O paused for a second, her stride alternately slowing and quickening as she thought. Thinking back to her prior impressions of 21O, no, it wasn't.

“I guess not,” 6O said, carefully. “But I don't think that this is all there is to you, you know? I feel like I've seen a little more of you, lately, and it's – well, it's kinda nice to see you smile, for one.”

21O kept her eyes firmly aimed at the ground in front of her as she walked.

“It's nice to be able to find something to smile about.”

“Yeah, so c'mon – don't think about the time you spent alone now, okay? You aren't now,” 6O said, tentatively patting 21O on the shoulder. “And I mean, 9S was always –”

“I... don't want to talk about 9S,” 21O said, though her tone didn't come across as angry, or even irritated. “Sorry.”

“No, I'm sorry, it was... I don't really think before I open my stupid mouth, so...”

“It's fine, it's just that it's... more than a little difficult, at the moment.”

“I'll be here when – I mean, _if_ you ever want to talk about it,” 6O said, coming to a stop after she realised they had reached 21O's quarters.

“Thank you,” 21O murmured. It sounded entirely heartfelt. “Would you like to come inside?”

“Um, you don't have to force –”

“I'm not forcing anything,” 21O said. “I'm asking if you would like to come inside.”

“Sure, I... guess?”

“You don't have to force it,” 21O echoed, a tiny smile doing its best to tug at the corners of her lips.

“You have a really weird sense of humour,” 6O replied, smirking. She considered that it was likely one of the few times 21O had ever invited anyone inside her quarters, and she didn't want to be the one to decline the offer. “Okay, I can stay for a little bit, but if you start talking about work stuff, I _swear_ –”

“Oh,” 21O said, sheepishly. “I had actually thought you might want to discuss the data I was looking at earlier.”

“Well, _that_ flavour of work stuff is more than fine,” 6O said, with a smile, as she stepped inside 21O's room. “If it's about trees, flowers, or even cute little – um, sorry! I'd love to, actually.”

“You needn't apologise,” 21O said. “Having your own interests is part of what makes you different from the others, after all.”

“Yeah, you're totally right!” 6O exclaimed, her face lighting up.

21O took a seat at her desk, directly underneath the window in her room, while 6O, not wanting to do something she shouldn't, sat herself down on the floor, resting her back against the side of the bed.

“This is what I was going over,” 21O said, picking up her portable work screen, and holding it at 6O's eye level. “There's a huge difference in the growth of plant life, even within the last –”

“– sixty years, right?” 6O finished for her.

“Exactly,” 21O said, almost sounding a little excited. “I had 9... someone fetch some of the data on the soil from a few different regions for me, but I haven't yet been able to pinpoint the cause.”

“You wanna know why?” 6O said, almost teasing in her tone.

“You... know the reason?”

“Of course I know!”

21O said nothing, but her eyes implored 6O to go on.

“Well, it's not _all_ plant life that's doing well,” 6O began to explain, with a fervour she rarely had the opportunity to display. “See, there's some that're doing really great now, like the grains, and the clovers – those things thrive when there's lots of sunlight, and since, you know, the whole 'Earth stopped rotating' thing...”

“I see,” 21O said, genuinely intrigued. “So it's nothing to do with the soil at all?”

“No no, it totally factors in, but nowhere near as much,” 6O went on, eyes shining. “But like I said, there's stuff like the soybeans that just can't handle that much sunlight, and they've kinda just... mm, I think those are probably extinct by now, actually...”

It took her a little while longer of her excited rambling to realise that 21O's eyes had glazed over; she was looking through her now, rather than at her.

“S-sorry,” 6O stammered out, looking at the floor. “I guess I do kind of go on a bit when I get –”

It was only when she looked up for a response, that she saw the tears streaming from 21O's eyes.

“Hey, _hey,_ what's wrong? Is it me?” 6O asked, panicked. “Did I say something wrong? Do you want me to go?”

“It's just that this is all so sudden,” 21O choked out, in a strangled voice that sounded so unlike her own. “It's been so long, and then you're just... you're _here,_ and you've been so nice, after everything I –”

“Didn't I say we were past that?” 6O half-whispered.

21O hiccoughed pathetically.

“Sorry,” she said with a sniffle. “I was just – I was so lonely, and...”

6O's thoughts snapped back to the night in 2B's room, on hearing those words.

 

_He was so sad,_

_He told me he felt so lonely,_

_He told me he..._

 

“I'm here now, so it's okay, right?” 6O said, her mind racing. What was she even supposed to do?

21O looked up at her, eyes still filled with synthetic tears, spawned from very real emotions. An unwilling noise left her lips, between sobs.

“Do you think anyone will notice, if...”

“If what?”

“If we don't go back, after the break ends.”

“Um, 'we'?”

“I don't want to be alone with my thoughts,” 21O said, composing herself a little, “and I don't think I can face talking to him, yet. Stay just a little longer.”

“Y-you mean here? Like, here, in your room here?”

“Where else?”

“I mean, um, I – um,” stammered 6O. Did she want her to stay, like how she had stayed with 2B, or was she suggesting... how 9S had stayed with her? Was that the kind of comfort she needed?

“If you aren't comfortable with the idea, I understand,” 21O mumbled.

“No no, it's just, um – I've never, um, _that,_ with anyone, and we don't really know each other that well and I don't even _have_ those parts it's kind of funny really I honestly kind of never requested them because nobody ever –”

 _“6O,”_ 21O said, firmly, looking absolutely dumbfounded. “What are you talking about?”

“I just don't think it's a good idea for two people to spend the night together like that especially when you're feeling so sad and I don't really understand you yet and I just think –” And then, it hit her. “W-wait, that's not.... what you meant?”

21O kept on staring at her, for what felt like a small eternity, until a different sound escaped her; it began as a snicker, then it turned into a giggle, until eventually, it became full on laughter that she couldn't maintain any semblance of control over. Her face was still stained with tears, but the overall effect was still one of pure mirth.

“What's so funny?” 6O asked, pouting again.

“Your face,” 21O said, fighting back a fresh round of laughter. “It was a wonderful picture.”

“You just said – I mean like, how was I supposed to – _ugh!”_

21O laughed again, softer this time. “I'm flattered, 6O, but... if you'd like to stay and tell me more about this data, I think I would be satisfied enough with that, for now.”

“Y-yeah, sure, of course,” 6O said, letting out a shaky exhale, eager to put her faux pas behind her as quickly as possible. Her cheeks were flushed bright pink. _For now?_ “Do, um... do you have anything on the forest? I know quite a bit about that...”

21O smiled, then began to flip through the different regions on her screen.

“Well, firstly, I wouldn't mind if you would take a look at...”

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all - thank you so much for all of the lovely, kind comments you've been leaving! I appreciate every one of them, and that's why I keep writing.  
> Secondly - do you like awkward idiots? I like awkward idiots.
> 
> Keep leaving comments if you're enjoying it or have any criticism! Thank you again!

“2B? 2B?! Come in, 2B!”

There was no response, save for the crackling of static.

“2B, come in! Come on, give me _something!”_

She was starting to panic, now; at least an hour had passed since 2B's last update. This wasn't even a matter of regularly scheduled contact – this was immediately required contact.

It was a simple enough mission; head back to the 'abandoned' – by humans, at least – factory, investigate if the machines were capable of producing any Goliath-class units, then report their findings. The factory was notorious for its poor signal reception, too spotty to make any solid connections, but usually, the long-wave frequencies used to send a unit's vitals up to the Bunker were able to make it through.

Right now, though, there was nothing. 2B's vitals had gone grey around thirty minutes ago, which meant that right now, 6O had absolutely nothing to go on.

She couldn't stand it. Not even a second longer.

 

_**YoRHa chat console v8.2** _

 

[ _… Establishing Connection …_ ]

[ _… Connection Established …_ ]

[ _… Direct Link Established …_ ]

 

_Participants:_

_YoRHa Unit 6O_

_YoRHa Unit 21O_

 

 _21O:_ 6O, you know full well that the messaging system is for mission related chatter only.

 

 _6O:_ I know that! it _is_ mission related! when have I _ever_ used it for

 _6O:_ never mind that

 _6O:_ have you heard from 9S? do you have his vitals up?

 

 _21O:_ We were last in contact around an hour ago, but yes, I have his vitals on-screen.

 _21O:_ Is something the matter?

 

 _6O:_ I don't have 2B's vitals

 _6O:_ getting worried, she hasn't backed up...

 _6O:_ why would you have his when I don't have hers

 _6O:_ do you think they were separated?

 

 _21O:_ I have nothing else on

 _21O:_ Incoming call, wait

 

It could be only be from 9S. 6O knew that. If it wasn't against protocol, she would have tried to patch herself in to the call, but she knew better. She fidgeted nervously in her seat, alternately toying with the zips on her uniform and drumming her fingers against the desk, staring intently at the messaging window.

 

 _21O:_ Yes, they were separated. She ran off to chase down a machine that was transmitting their position to others.

 _21O:_ He's gone looking for her, but doesn't know how far down into the facility she may be by now.

 

 _6O:_ right, okay, um

 _6O:_ thanks

 _6O:_ I'll close this channel then

 

 _21O:_ Wait

 _21O:_ Leave it open. I'll inform you if I hear anything before you do.

 

 _6O:_ oh, thanks

 _6O:_ sorry, I'm just … so worried

 

 _21O:_ I understand.

 _21O:_ I'll share what I have from 9S's intel.

 

 _6O:_ thanks

 _6O:_ really, thanks

 

6O exhaled, heavily. Going over the data 21O had sent her would at least keep her mind occupied, even if it didn't actually help anything.

She began to sort through the 3D data 9S had managed to put together from both his recon today, and earlier forays into the factory. It was leaps and bounds more useful than the baseline imagery that YoRHa provided her with – rather than flat, grey textures, with no accounting for obstacles, there was a full wire-frame model of each and every room he had explored, clearly detailing any potential hazards. It was no small wonder, then, that 2B managed as well as she did, given the limited data that was relayed to her on her surroundings. Maybe if she'd had access to the same level of detail 9S did, she wouldn't have...

 _No,_ it wasn't time for thoughts like that, she reasoned with herself. This is what she was handed, and this is what she'd make do with. 2B wasn't a scanner, and neither was she. Still, though, she wondered why these versions weren't made the standard – surely if it was outright superior in quality, there'd be no reason to withhold it, no? Was it against protocol? Was it because there might be errors, and the Scanner would be held accountable?

Either way, just this once would be alright, she concluded. She began to sort her way through the data, room by room, saving each and every byte of data to her own personal server storage for later use; she knew 9S well enough to know that an error on his part was nigh impossible.

“2B, come in,” she muttered, softly. “Come in, 2B...”

Nothing.

Sighing, she went back to sorting through the factory data; there were doors leading to places that he hadn't explored, entire other levels of the complex, and – wait, entire other levels? There weren't any stairs in the area, but from what she could tell, there was a lower floor that 9S had marked, below the one she was currently looking over. Hastily, 6O brought up her own decidedly primitive area maps, cross-referencing the last room she'd looked at with those.

 

 _6O:_ hey, take a look at this, I'm sending something over

 _6O:_ open it along with AF-271-B from 9S's data pack

 _6O:_ that's gotta be a straight drop, right?

 

 _21O:_ It seems that way.

 

 _6O:_ I mean, it might be why I can't even get a read on her vitals if she's that far down

 _6O:_ can you send it to 9S? See if he looked into that already?

 

 _21O:_ I lost contact, around ten minutes ago.

 

 _6O:_ oh, um

 _6O:_ sorry

 

 _21O:_ I'm used to it.

 

 _6O:_ okay, well... if you get a chance

 _6O:_ I'd really appreciate it

 

 _21O:_ I'll add it to his data queue. He should get it the instant the signal improves... it's a rather small file.

 

She typed out a reply, with unsteady fingers.

 

 _6O:_ you're totally the best, thank you

 

Neglecting to actually send the message, 6O leaned back in her chair. Her breathing was shaky, but she at least knew now that she had done all she could. That had stung, though.

_I'm used to it._

Of course she was used to it. The rational part of 6O knew that logically, she couldn't be considered complicit, but selfishly, she couldn't stand the thought of screwing things up with 21O over something she had no real hand in. A nasty, uncomfortably hot itch began to spread from the base of 6O's neck, heading upwards; she hoped beyond hope that 21O could separate her role in 2B's mission from their budding friendship. Given the conversation they'd had in the cafeteria about 11O, it seemed like that might be the case, but 6O didn't want to take anything for granted.

That was a strange word, too. Friendship. She had worked with 21O for years, yet never had she ever, even for a second, presumed or assumed that she'd be able to call her a friend. It was certainly beginning to feel that way at least, if they weren't there already. She hadn't even had the chance to discuss what had happened inside that room with 2B, likely the only person she could trust with something like that on the entire Bunker.

What a mess. The whole thing. Why couldn't she have been assigned to some nice, calm Scanner boy? They were always pleasant, he probably would've brought her flowers, went to go grab whatever data she wanted, maybe even –

 _No, no, no._ No matter how much it would've simplified things, it wouldn't have been worth never getting to know 2B. Not to mention that 2B probably wouldn't have opened up to just anyone, and what if...

She cast an idle eye over her notifications. Nothing. Not from 21O, from 2B, from 9S. Nothing.

It had only been a matter of minutes, but _anything_ could have happened in that time. 6O slipped her gloves off – they suddenly felt incredibly constricting – and tossed them to the side of her keyboard. One of them landed dangerously close to the far right hand side of her desk, teetering perilously at the edge of the metal railing.

“No no no, no no no no no – aw, sh– snacks,” 6O pouted, stopping herself short of letting out one of those 'bad words' she insisted on avoiding these days. Her eyes filled with tears as the glove hit the floor of the level below her with a pathetic slap. It was such a trivial thing, but it was enough to push her over the edge, given the circumstances. If 2B lost her memories now, then the entire last week would be...

“6O.”

“2B?!” 6O spun around in place on her seat, almost overshooting and ending up facing the opposite direction, but managing to reach excitedly for the communications screen. “Huh...?”

There was only static on the other end. Was it just a brief opening in the interference? A late message, just getting through? But if that were true, then what...

“6O,” 2B's voice repeated, making the Operator frown and stamp a foot on the ground angrily. What the hell was wrong with her work station? If it was about to give out now, of all times, she'd personally storm down to the Commander and demand to use _hers._

“Uhh... is she okay?”

6O turned in her chair, quickly, on hearing the second voice. His voice.

“6O,” 2B said, a third time.

The Operator jumped to her feet, upon seeing the three androids behind her chair.

“You total – you absolute, total...” she began, before turning to 2B, tears flowing freely down her face, and down into her veil. “Where _were_ you? Why didn't you reply? I was so worried, you... you...”

“We died,” 9S cut in, bluntly, as 6O stood with her hands inside her veil, covering as much of her face as she could. It was rather unnecessary, thinking about it. “I managed to find somewhere to upload 2B's data, but man, following her down that hole... big mistake. Kinda glad they had the new bodies ready for immediate data download, really...”

21O caught her eye for a second, before looking away.

 _I get these two being here, but her too?_ 6O thought, a puzzled frown replacing her intense look of concern for a moment.

“Well, I mean... I'm glad you're okay,” she sniffled, wiping her eyes, “but really, you fell down a – where were your Pods? Why didn't you just grab on?! And _you!_ Following her? What were you _thinking?!_ If your data wasn't backed up, you would've...”

“Calm down, 6O,” 21O said, calmly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

The gesture caught 6O entirely off guard. Her eyes opened wide, as she looked down at it, just resting there, as if it were the most natural thing in the world; as soon as 21O realised that 6O was thrown off by it, she too, seemed to panic for a second, her hand retreating swiftly.

9S's eyes narrowed, briefly, but then he went on. “21O says you were the one who caught it, actually... I mean, it was way too late, but you found it, right?”

“Y-yeah,” 6O stuttered, attempting to get the conversation back on track. “Without your data, I couldn't have, but without looking at the old maps, I wouldn't have seen it either, so...”

9S looked past her, at the message history still in the centre of her display.

“'You're the best', huh? Looks like you've got a fan, Operator,” 9S said, with an impish grin.

“Hey, don't look at that stuff! It's classified!” 6O pouted, clenching her fists.

“Shouldn't you two be downstairs reporting the mission failure to the Commander?” 21O interjected, looking down at 9S with a mildly condescending look, that threatened to turn into intense disapproval.

“Jeez, all work, no play, as usual,” 9S said, rolling his eyes. “You're as much of a slave driver as she is, you know that?”

“I'm well aware, 9S,” 21O replied. “Now get going, before I report you for disobeying orders.”

“Yeah, yeah,” 9S said, with faux-annoyance. The little smile that lingered on his face gave him away.

“ _One_ affir–” 21O started, before she bit the inside of her lip.

“Huh? Did you say something, Operator?” 9S asked, as he began to walk away.

“No. Go ahead.”

“If you say so,” he said, with a shrug, before setting off for the elevator.

“I'll come by your room later 2B, okay?” 6O said, looking decidedly less anxious, angry, worried, concerned, and tearful now. 6O often felt too many prohibited emotions, mostly all at once. It was decidedly irritating for everyone involved, herself included.

“Alright,” she said, quietly, her lips pursed the slightest bit. She caught up with 9S in an instant, taking up her regular position behind him.

The two of them were left alone, an awkward silence hanging in the air.

“Haha, um... about that whole 'the best' thing,” 6O started, with a quavering voice. “I um – I just talk that way, you know? I tell 2B she's the best all the time, too...”

“Oh, I'm sure,” 21O murmured. There was the slightest trace of disappointment in her voice, which put 6O on the back foot yet again. She _wasn't_ bothered by something like that?

“Um, would you mind if you sent me his recon data every mission?” 6O asked, eager to shy away from the subject. “It's kind of useful to be able to pair it with what I already have, and I don't get to share a whole lot of intel with 2B...”

“If it'll be of use to you, it wouldn't be a problem,” 21O replied, seemingly thankful of the segue.

“Thanks,” 6O said, with a little nod. “And hey, what was up with that with him, just now? You were totally about to nail him for the 'yeah, yeah', weren't you?”

“Well,” 21O began, looking directly into 6O's eyes, “a certain Operator happened to suggest that I should be less... like that, with him.”

6O's pulse rate quickened, and she felt a rush of tingling heat flowing rapidly to her head.

“I mean, I... yeah, I did, but I...”

“But you didn't think I would actually try,” 21O stated. It really couldn't have been interpreted as a question.

“I... just wasn't expecting anything, I guess,” 6O replied, honestly. She found herself unable to tear her eyes away. “I'm glad though, really...”

“Mm,” hummed 21O, leaving them in silence once more. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but 6O found herself reaching desperately into the far corners of her mind for something to say, regardless.

“Do you wanna, um, hang out for a bit? It'll be a while before I go see 2B, so...”

21O's expression was entirely unreadable, but there wasn't a long wait for her response.

“Yes. May I see your room again?”

“Huh? Why?”

“I noticed you had some books I'd like to take a look at, last time I was there,” 21O mumbled, quietly, almost as if she were mildly ashamed of showing an interest. “It also... there was a pleasant scent.”

“Oh, sure!” 6O said, thankful the veil covered her no doubt reddening cheeks. “Um, the smell is – well, it's the perfume I use, 32S brought it back for me from someone at the Resistance camp a while ago...”

“I see,” 21O said, the first to look away. “Do you enjoy that sort of thing?”

“You mean the perfume? Yeah!” said 6O, relaxing a little. “I'm always telling 2B to try it! That, and maybe a flower in her hair... I mean, what kind of girl _doesn't_ want to look good sometimes?”

“I've never really given it any thought,” 21O replied, softly.

“Aw, well... maybe when things quiet down a little, then you can, right?”

“Perhaps,” 21O nearly whispered, her lips pressing tightly together. “Shall we be going?”

“Yep!” 6O replied, a smile already replacing the frowns and trembling lips from what felt like mere moments ago.

She chanced a look down at 21O's hand. She could still feel its comforting warmth on her shoulder, and she found herself wishing that it would always be there when she needed it.

 _A little fool's wish_ , she thought, the bright smile fading just a little.

 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback on this chapter would be greatly appreciated 。゜゜(´Ｏ`) ゜゜。  
> As always, thank you for reading, and thank you for the lovely comments. I'm enjoying writing this a lot.

“Man, did she have to yell quite so loud?” 9S whined, rubbing his ear over-dramatically. “I feel like every Operator in the room knows about it, now...”

“We failed the mission,” 2B said, with a sigh, “miserably. She was well within her rights to yell.”

“Yeah, but still...” he pouted. “Got anything planned before next deployment?”

2B gave him a measured look.

“Yes.”

“Mind sharing?”

“6O wants to talk,” she replied, running her tongue along the back of her teeth to distract her from any efforts at adding anything more.

“Again? If I didn't know better, I'd say she was totally into you,” 9S said, hints of both amusement and ever-so-mild jealousy seeping into his tone. “Are you gonna be there all night?”

“I don't know,” 2B said, honestly. “What do you mean, if you didn't know better?”

“Seriously?” 9S said, incredulous. “You didn't see that back there?”

“See what, exactly?”

“The pair of them,” he said, with a little laugh. “I've never seen 21O like that before, and man, 6O's face...”

“You're imagining things,” 2B replied, waving her hand dismissively. “6O has bigger things to deal with than your Operator's insecurities.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?”

“That's none of your concern, 9S.”

9S's features quickly rearranged themselves into a sharp frown.

“Feels like nothing's my concern,” he muttered, coming to a halt in front of her, in the hallway. “Do you not trust me? Is that what it is?”

“It's her private business,” 2B stated, plainly. “Would you like it if I told her everything you've confided in me?”

“No, but – I'm serious, there's totally something going on,” he insisted, the frown fading a little. “I'm sorry, anyway, I didn't mean...”

“It's fine,” 2B said, a second wave of her hand telling him to drop that subject. “Is there something wrong with them becoming friends?”

“No, and I mean, I don't know 6O that well,” he began, prompting 2B to bite the inside of her lip. “I guess it's just... 21O is 21O, you know? I just feel like 6O's gonna get herself hurt, sooner or later.”

“No, I don't know,” 2B said, turning to face him directly. “Why do you say that?”

“Because... 21O's always gonna put work first, over everything, every time.” 9S said, slowly. “Honestly? I heard from 801S she's turned in more people to the Commander than we've brought in deserters – d-don't get me wrong, I really do admire her, but...”

2B looked him over, recalling what 6O had told her; all Operators grew attached to their paired units, whether they liked it or not. She had seemed so certain that 21O cared for 9S enough to trust her, but could she really understand 21O's true nature better than 9S?

“I'll bring it up with her later,” 2B concluded. “Thank you.”

“Uh, don't mention it?” 9S said, shuffling his feet. “Hey, before you go, though... can we talk?”

“About what?”

“You know what.”

“Then no,” 2B said, turning to walk away, before 9S grabbed hold of her wrist, albeit lightly.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” she murmured, eyes fixed forward. “I did.”

“Are you saying it was a mistake?”

“Yes,” she whispered, pulling her arm from his gentle grip. His own arm hung limply at his side, as he watched her walk away.

 

**

 

Though it wasn't even especially cold, 2B shivered, as she waited inside her quarters for 6O to arrive. It had been a slim hope, but she had prayed that 9S could have just taken the night they'd shared at face value, and nothing more.

Of course he wouldn't. He _couldn't_.

Two soft knocks, followed by a muffled 'ugh' dragged her out of her thoughts; she was at the door before 6O even had a chance to do anything else.

“If you don't stop that ridiculous habit, I'm going to perform maintenance on you myself,” 2B said, touching 6O on the arm gently. Her presence itself was soothing, after spending the past few hours alone, doing nothing but thinking.

“I don't know why I do it,” 6O pouted, desperately. “There's gotta be something sticking...”

“Never mind,” 2B sighed. “Are you feeling any better?”

“I mean, you died,” 6O sulked, taking her veil off and placing it on a quiet area of the bookshelf. “I've had better days.”

“I'm fine, though.”

“Yeah, thanks to 9S,” 6O pointed out. “Can you imagine how hard it would've been for me to explain this last couple of weeks to you again if he hadn't managed to run that field backup?”

“I... can imagine, yes,” 2B muttered.

“Just – try to be more careful, okay?” 6O said, planting herself on 2B's bed, and leaning back against the wall. “We were both really worried, you know?”

“Both?”

“Yeah, 21O was worried too,” 6O continued, idly undoing her braids. “She's gonna start sharing 9S's data with me in future, so I'll be able to give you way better readouts of the mission area.”

“Is that allowed?” 2B asked, resting back against the headboard, sliding her feet beneath the covers.

“Mm... probably depends on who you ask,” 6O replied with a wink. “But if we can stop more stuff like that happening, who cares?”

“And 21O is fine with it?”

“I mean, yeah? If we're all technically working together, isn't it best if we start to share this stuff sooner, rather than later – or never?” 6O replied, looking a little bemused.

“It's just that not so long ago, she was...”

“I told you, it's all good now,” 6O said, with a reassuring smile. “I mean... we've been talking quite a lot this past week, actually.”

“Oh?” 2B said, looking up. 9S would always be more observant than she could ever hope to be, she supposed.

“Yeah!” 6O said, excitedly. “We started getting lunch together in the cafeteria on our breaks, and we went over data in her room, and – mm, some other stuff...”

“Other stuff?”

“She was really upset the other day – _really_ upset...”

“Did she say why?”

“Um, kind of,” 6O said, a little embarrassed. “I... don't think she's ever had a real friend before, 2B.”

“I see,” 2B said, a little taken aback.

“She's not like what people think at all,” 6O went on, shaking her head back and forth vigorously as she spoke. “I actually really think you'd like her if you got to know her, too.”

“I don't think that's a good idea,” 2B said, far too quickly.

“Aw, why not? You'd totally –”

“No, 6O.”

“Don't be such a stick in the mud!” 6O huffed, motioning with her hands. “It'd be good for the both of you!”

“It isn't a matter of it being good for me or not,” 2B said, looking at her knees. “It's a bad idea. I don't want you getting too close to her, either.”

“You – huh?”

“I don't trust her, and from what I've been told –”

“Told what? Who said...?”

“It doesn't matter,” 2B said. “I don't want you to end up on her bad side again.”

“I _can_ look after myself, you know,” 6O said, frowning a little, but attempting to defuse the situation nonetheless. “I trust her.”

“You can't trust someone willing to put their work before everything else,” 2B stated, matter-of-factly. The hypocrisy of her own statement was not lost on her, as the words left her lips.

“Wait, was it 11O that told you? It was, wasn't it? That total b–”

“6O, will you listen to me for a second?”

The Operator sat back against the wall, fuming, but stayed quiet.

“If you do something that's against protocol, can you guarantee that she'll keep quiet about it?”

“She's breaking protocol right now to lie for the pair of you!” 6O snapped back. “Didn't I tell you that already?”

2B shook her head, gently.

“What if it's an isolated incident? Something that has nothing to do with 9S, nothing to do with me? Could you be so sure then?”

“What's _with_ you?” 6O said, raising her voice. “Why do you suddenly care about my personal life? So what if I get close to her – maybe she needs someone, just like you did!”

“What I did with 9S was –”

“Not him, _me!_ What would you even do if I wasn't here?” 6O shouted, tears in her eyes. “Who would you come to?”

2B bit her tongue, unsure of what to say in response to that.

“I'm not you!” 6O went on, seemingly unable to hold back her emotions any longer. “This is who I am! Me! I can't just... not care about people who open up to me and trust me with stuff like that!”

“I didn't mean it like that,” 2B said, sitting forward. “Comforting her is one thing, but if you let your guard down around someone like that –”

“You should hear yourself right now,” 6O said; her voice was softer now, which only made the words sting more. “'Let my guard down'? That's – that's a really horrible thing to say about someone you don't know, 2B...”

“I – I just don't want to see you hurt,” 2B said, her own eyes clouded with tears.

“Then why are you saying these things? I... I made a new friend, one I'm _allowed_ to spend time with; she likes to go through d-data with me, and she likes my room, and – and... I thought you'd be happy...”

“I'm sorry,” 2B said, panicking, “I didn't mean to –”

“What you did with 9S was probably _the_ most... irresponsible thing you've ever told me about, 2B,” 6O said, her voice shaking, as if every word was an effort to force out. “But you know, I still didn't judge you, because I don't – I _can't_ understand your feelings, or your situation...”

2B's breath caught in her throat; more than that, it felt as if a hand were upon it, constricting it, forcing her to gasp for breath.

“So you can't pretend you understand mine, because you aren't me,” 6O croaked out, tears rolling down her cheeks. “You – you don't get to say those things about me, or the people I choose to be around, okay?”

“6O, I –”

“I'm... gonna go,” 6O managed to interject between sobs, already at the door. “S-so I'll speak to you some other time, alright?”

2B reached out with her hand as she stepped off of her bed, disentangling herself from her sheets noisily, but 6O held her own hands up to her.

“Don't! S-seriously, just... leave it, 2B.”

2B was barely aware of the door opening and closing, only of the absence of 6O.

She slumped down, onto the cold, hard floor. She knew the dangers of getting attached all too well. Trusting 9S implicitly, over the only person that had always been there for her? Just because of some twisted interpretation of whatever 'love' was?

She slammed a fist into the floor, leaving a small indent.

It hurt, and she was glad of it.

 

 

**

 

6O's footsteps echoed in the hallway, with an irregular rhythm, as she made her way back to her room. She couldn't believe what she had just heard, coming from someone she'd looked up to in so many ways; it was horrifying, truly, to see the pedestal she'd placed 2B atop crumbling to pieces in front of her very eyes.

She felt more like tearing the doors clean off their fixings than calmly letting them slide open, but she resisted the urge to get herself into any more situations she couldn't deal with, today.

“Oh,” 6O sniffled, as she stepped inside, “you're still here?”

21O was sitting, one leg crossed over the other, in the chair at her – well, 6O's – desk.

“I'm sorry,” 21O said, quickly, dismissing the programs from the screens in front of her and closing three, or maybe four books. “I was caught up with going over some of the material here.”

“That's... nice,” 6O managed, taking one unsteady step after another closer to her bed. A stray whimper escaped her lips.

“Are you alright?” 21O asked, turning around in her seat, her expression flickering through several different emotions as she tried to take in 6O's tearful face.

“N-no,” sobbed 6O, falling to her knees, just shy of her bed. “I – I can't...”

“What happened? Do you need to go to maintenance?” 21O said, abandoning her seat and crouching down beside her.

“No, it's... 2B, she...”

“Was there a problem with her field backup?” 21O queried, unable to put the pieces together.

“She said – she said such rotten things about you,” 6O cried, the sobs wracking her body. “I couldn't just... I told her she...”

“Slow down,” 21O said, placing a hand underneath 6O's arm and lifting her up to the bed. “Start from the beginning.”

“It started off just fine,” 6O choked. “W-we were talking about... the mission, and I told her we were gonna start sharing data, and then she just...”

“Take your time.”

“As soon as I m-mentioned you, she just – she went all weird on me, like I said something really, really wrong,” 6O continued, keeping her voice as steady as she could. “I really thought she'd be happy I made a new friend, but she – she...”

21O's hand came to rest upon 6O's forearm; she didn't flinch this time, nor did she give any sign that she had noticed, as if she were scared it would disappear. It gave her enough strength to continue.

“I even – I feel like such a jerk telling you what she said... but she just – she kept saying I couldn't trust you, and that I shouldn't let my guard down around you, and...”

“I... see,” 21O said, softly.

“Someone totally put her up to it, but – but even if they did, she totally has n-no right to say that stuff about you!” 6O bawled.

“What people say about me is... irrelevant,” 21O said, in hushed tones. “You really shouldn't have fallen out with her over it.”

“How can you even sit there and say that?!” 6O shrieked. “You're _not_ like that, so why would you let people...?”

“I _am_ like that,” 21O said, with a melancholy, distant look in her eyes.

“No, that's not... n-no, you're not that person,” 6O said, whipping her head from side to side, so much so that her neck ached afterwards. “I know you're not like that, not really...”

21O simply sat in silence, her lips drawn tightly together, looking at the broken girl in front of her.

“It's not true, right?” 6O asked, almost begging to hear the words leave 21O's lips. “P-please, tell me you're not just waiting for me to slip up...”

“I've been that way for as long as most people can recall,” 21O replied, finally, her fingers tightening on 6O's arm.

“W-what about me? I-if I messed up, what _would_ you... I mean, would – sorry, I just...”

21O exhaled heavily through her nose, giving the other Operator a complicated look.

“I... would like to think I would be able to put your needs first,” she said, after a long pause.

“That's all I needed to hear,” 6O said, sighing with relief. “I'm... so glad.”

“Why did you stand up for me against someone who means so much to you?” 21O mumbled, looking somewhere off to the side.

“I told you,” 6O said, earnestly, her voice regaining some of its usual vigour, “it's not okay for anyone to say that kind of stuff about someone I like... besides, we'll probably make up in the end, like we always do...”

“'Like' is a strong word,” 21O said, dryly.

“It is not,” 6O pouted. “Are you saying you don't like me?”

“I didn't say that.”

“Say it, then.”

“No,” 21O said, a mixture of nervousness, defiance, and the slightest hint of a tease playing into her voice.

“I had _the_ worst day,” huffed 6O, “and you aren't even gonna give me that?”

“You're asking me to say something very embarrassing,” 21O said, her hand withdrawing at last from 6O's arm, its comforting work done.

“I'm not hiding anyone else in my room,” 6O said, gesturing around, before wiping her eyes a little, “and I won't tell anyone you said something so 'embarrassing'.”

“6O...”

“Please?” 6O implored, leaning into her. They suddenly felt very close.

“Does it matter that much to you?” 21O muttered, inching backwards along the bed, attempting to put some distance between the two of them.

“Yeah,” 6O breathed, closing the gap again, “it does.”

21O swallowed, audibly.

“I... like you.”

“I know,” 6O whispered. “I can tell.”

The tension was palpable; there was barely a hair's breadth between their faces, their eyes searching each others'. It was hard to say what exactly they were searching for, but whatever it was, they seemed to find it.

One of 21O's hands found its way back to 6O's arms, painfully slowly, as if she were fighting with herself over the decision. In reality, she was; a battle between the rational, logical side of her, and the emotional, impulsive one raged on, as she sought to steady her shaky breath.

Her other hand came to rest at the side of 6O's face; her expression remained half-curious, half-anxious, as she ran her fingers through the loosely curled, but no longer braided hair.

6O smiled, eyes closed, savouring every second of the delicate feeling of 21O's fingertips brushing against her scalp, before she took a hold of her wrist herself.

“If you have to be somewhere,” 6O began, but never finished.

“No,” replied 21O, gently, her hand slipping out of 6O's hair. “Nowhere.”

“Aw,” 6O said, “you stopped...”

21O's mouth fell open for a second, but she caught it before it turned into a fully slackened jaw, closing it tight again. The lightly trembling hand began to trace the same lines as before, over and over again, as 6O leaned into the gentle embrace of her fingers.

“You should have someone to look out for you, too,” 21O whispered. Her own whispers were calming, soothing, to the point where 6O felt as if she were in danger of melting into her.

“You think it should be you?” 6O replied, unsure herself if she was hopeful, or merely questioning her line of thinking. She sounded strangely breathless.

“Yes,” 21O said, without a second's hesitation.

6O giggled, perhaps out of nervousness, or even embarrassment – again, she was unsure of which, but it was likely a coalesced mess of the two. She leaned forward, resting her head on 21O's shoulder. Unlike the last time, it wasn't to cry from sadness, but a few lingering tears still escaped, falling onto the uniform beneath her.

“Sorry,” 6O mumbled into the fabric. “Crazy day...”

“It's fine,” 21O said, trying not to overthink her words, and drawing the other girl close.

“Is this really fine, though?” 6O asked, tentatively, before she gave in to the tight, warm embrace entirely.

“Yes,” 21O replied.

“Are you staying?”

“Yes.”

“What about –”

“6O.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Be quiet... please.”

“Can I say one more thing?”

“Must you?”

“I like you,” 6O said, the little smile evident in her voice, as she let herself relax, properly.

“I know,” 21O sighed, a matching one in her own, despite it all.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What're you talking about? I'm not late.  
> (lemme know if I did an okay job continuing on, thank you!)  
> ((sorry it's been so long I've just been hard at work screaming))

“Hey,” a voice said, from 21O's left. “We have to go.”

She was vaguely aware of the bed shifting, and 6O's hand shaking her shoulder softly, as she forced herself out of rest mode.

“Is it time for our shift to begin already?” 21O asked, groggily. “My internal time is –”

“No,” 6O replied, her tone decidedly panicked. “We have to report to the Commander.”

“So soon?” 21O mumbled, still coming around. “Haven't we submitted everything already?”

“She's requesting a special meeting, as soon as we're able to go together,” 6O replied, desperately attempting to do her braids in a hurry. “Didn't you receive the – oh, rest mode, sorry...”

“I see it now,” 21O said, quietly, pushing the message out of her visual feed. “What do you suppose she needs?”

“I... I don't know!” 6O squealed, finally succeeding with one side of her hair. “I thought it might be to ask why you've been here for so long, but us working together more is exactly what she told us to do, so it _can't_ be that!”

21O furrowed her brow, sitting up on the edge of 6O's bed, and reaching for her boots.

“No, I can't imagine that she would care about that,” she said, sucking on her teeth. “Though, perhaps...”

“What?”

“No, never mind,” 21O muttered, waving her hand dismissively. “We should get a move on.”

“Yeah, just a second,” 6O huffed, pulling her hair straight again, as her shaking hands failed to tie her hair just as she liked it.

“Here,” 21O said, dropping her boots in a crumpled mess on the floor. Slowly, she paced over to 6O, who looked decidedly bemused.

“Here _what_?” she asked, with a pout.

“Turn around,” 21O said, softly. “Let me.”

“O-oh,” 6O stammered, a little embarrassed. “You know how to braid?”

“I wore mine in a similar fashion, a long time ago,” 21O said, twisting the hair around itself with care. “It.... admittedly has been a while, but it should suffice.”

“Thanks,” 6O gently mumbled, wringing her hands in her lap, absently. “I don't think I remember seeing you with that, though.”

“I have been here longer than you, after all.”

“Mm, that's true, I guess...” 6O said, trying to imagine it, before shaking her head softly. “Hey, um, can I ask you something?”

“Yes,” 21O replied, calmly, continuing to work away at 6O's hair, “but do try to remain still.”

“Sorry,” she started, holding her neck straight. “After this – um, would you maybe come to see 2B with me?”

21O stayed silent; perhaps waiting for 6O to elaborate, or perhaps mulling it over.

“I just... I don't feel like I should apologise to her, but I want to talk things out, you know? You don't have to say much, o-or well, anything really, but I...”

“If it means that much to you,” 21O said, airily, placing the little tie at the end of the finished braid. “Though, if we could please focus on the meeting first, I would appreciate it.”

“Of course,” whispered 6O, quietly.

Although the fact that they had shared a bed hadn't escaped either of the pair's notice, there seemed to be a kind of unwritten agreement hanging in the air that now was certainly _not_ the time to begin unpacking that.

“Mm, ready then, I guess,” 6O said, settling her veil in place, as 21O finished pulling on her boots. “You?”

“I suppose,” 21O said, suppressing a sigh.

“Let's get it over with then, I guess... oh, wait, um – should we really leave together?”

“We're going to the same place, from the same place,” 21O said, staring at her in such a way that made her feel like she'd left a few logic circuits behind at her desk. “Why wouldn't we?”

“O-oh, yeah. Right.”

Maybe she'd check her desk later, just in case.

 

**

 

“Your combat unit's down there with the Commander right now, 6O,” said an Operator that 6O didn't recognise by designation, only by hairstyle, as she and 21O walked past the small crowd milling around at the Command room's entrance.

“Yeah, and _her_ Scanner was earlier, too,” said another, that she knew to be 18O. “Something exciting happening with you two?”

“What?” 6O whispered to 21O, ignoring the gossip-mongers. “Did you know he was here, too?”

“It's the first I've heard of it, assuming it's true,” came the hushed reply, as they headed towards the elevator.

“Oh, this can't be good,” 6O mumbled. She could see the white of 2B's hair from over the railings, and she felt her heart sink in time with the elevator descending.

21O pursed her lips, as the pair approached the bridge, staying at a safe distance from the ongoing conversation that they could only seem to catch disjointed snippets of.

 

“… most _irresponsible …_ I have ever … how you hope …”

“I can … my actions, but … 9S is … punishing him for my … all I ask.”

 

The Commander seemed to survey 2B for a moment, before shaking her head. What she said next, they all heard.

“...that's how it'll have to be from now on, 2B. Dismissed.”

2B's shoulders fell, then, her perfect posture breaking. As she turned on her heel, and made to walk straight past the two Operators, 6O caught her arm.

“Hey, what's wrong? 2B?”

They both saw the distraught expression drawn painfully across what few of her features were visible, as she turned to face them.

“2B, what happ–”

“6O, 21O, if you could report,” the Commander interjected, coldly. 6O's grasp lingered on 2B's arm for a little longer, before 21O gave her a gentle pull on her shoulder.

Regretfully, she let go, unable to tear her eyes away from 2B's face until the very last moment. She caught 21O's gaze as she turned; her eyes were soft, sympathetic. If the situation had been any different, 6O would have said it was a pretty expression.

“Thank you for coming so soon,” the Commander began, “the quicker we can get things taken care of, the less disruption there'll be.”

21O was the first to speak.

“What is it, Commander? I... heard you spoke with 9S earlier, too, but I have not yet had the chance to –”

“I see word spreads as quickly as ever,” the Commander replied, in a low hiss. “Yes, though that was largely to inform him of a change of working conditions. He wasn't at fault.”

“At fault for... what, exactly, ma'am?” 6O asked, tentatively.

“And what change might that be?” 21O cautiously added.

The Commander sighed, then took a deep breath, looking back and forth between the pair of them.

“He'll be working with another unit, from now on,” she started, slowly. “As will 2B.”

21O's eyes opened wide, but her reaction wasn't nearly as visceral as 6O's.

 _“What?!”_ she exclaimed, loudly, unable to bite it back. “What did she even do?”

“Control your outbursts,” the Commander hissed, “and lower your voice. You should know better than anyone that emotions are prohibited for a reason.”

“I-is that what this is about?” 6O stammered out. “I mean, sorry, ma'am, I didn't mean –”

“I'll put it this way, 6O,” came the stony-faced response. “If _anything_ is seen to be interfering with the chances of a mission, I will personally put a stop to it. Is that clear?”

“Y-yes, ma'am...”

“You two can both consider your assignment over,” said the Commander, coldly. “21O, you and 9S will be working with 11O, and her combat unit, 7B.”

“Affirmative, ma'am,” 21O said, her expression unreadable.

“Um, what about me?” asked 6O, her head spinning.

“We've yet to find a suitable replacement partner for 2B,” stated the Commander. “I'll be in contact once we do.”

“R-right...”

There was a heavy, oppressive silence, before the Commander turned around, and began talking to another Operator at the bridge. Though she hadn't dismissed them, she was quite clearly done with this topic.

“Come on,” 21O murmured. “Let's go.”

“Shouldn't we ask if –”

“We shouldn't do anything.”

“I know, but...”

“Please,” 21O implored, clenching her fist at her side.

6O stayed quiet, as they walked back to her room. She had hoped that they would run into 2B in the corridor, but perhaps it was for the best that they didn't.

She wouldn't have known what to say, anyway.

 

“7B...” 6O mumbled as the door closed behind them. “Didn't we have a '7' on the assault on the factory?”

“I don't follow,” 21O said, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “That was an E-type, wasn't it–”

Her eyes fell shut, when she realised just what she had said.

“Right,” 6O whispered, taking a seat next to her. “I guess that part doesn't change.”

“I suppose not,” said 21O, sullenly. “It makes sense that they wouldn't want me to know.”

“I – I think I might know why this happened, though...” 6O started.

“You don't have to explain it,” 21O said. “It was made abundantly clear.”

“You knew that they...?”

“It wouldn't be the first time. It's simply the first time they were _caught_.”

“I guess so,” 6O muttered under her breath, a little relieved that 21O was as quick on the uptake as she was. “What're we going to do, then?”

“Do?” 21O asked, incredulous. “We do as we're told, just as we're supposed to.”

“You know this isn't right,” 6O protested, weakly. “You working with 11O, of all people? Those two not being together? He's not just gonna _forget_ what happened between them, you know...”

“That is likely exactly the outcome,” 21O said with a small sigh, looking directly at 6O. “His hurt will be short-lived.”

“Th-that doesn't make it okay!” 6O said, eyes filling with tears. “We know everything, don't we? S-so it's our place to put it right, isn't it?”

21O studied her face for a moment, before placing a gentle hand on top of 6O's own.

“I'm... not saying it's alright,” she began, quietly. “I'm simply saying that there isn't much we can do.”

6O exhaled, shakily. “Yeah, I – I guess you're right...”

“I don't _want_ to be right,” the other Operator replied.

“Do you think, um, that...” 6O trailed off, looking down at their hands.

“What is it?”

“That we're going to have to stop seeing each other so much? I... I know it's probably selfish to worry about it, but...”

“I'm not sure,” replied 21O, looking away. It wasn't quite the answer 6O had hoped for, but it was the one she had expected. “I... don't especially want to be alone again, not... not now.”

“You aren't,” 6O whispered, leaning into her. “Not right now.”

 


End file.
